First Serve
South Dakota, coming off a 29-4 season and its fourth NCAA tournament berth in five seasons, is heading to Ames, Iowa, for the Cardinal and Gold Challenge Aug. 25-26. The Coyotes will face the Iowa State Cyclones in their season opener on Friday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Hilton Coliseum. On Saturday, South Dakota will take on DePaul at 2 p.m. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.
 
The Coyotes
The Coyotes return three-time All-Summit middle blocker Madison Harms, who is just the second Coyote in program history in record 500 career blocks. Harms led the team last season with 157 blocks and 1.23 blocks per set. Senior outside hitter Evelyn Diederich also returns for the Coyotes after appearing in 29 matches last season and totaling 205 kills, 49 digs, and 25 block assists. Diederich and Harms were both named players to watch in the Summit League preseason coaches' poll announced on Wednesday. In that same poll, the Coyotes were voted to finish on top of the league by the league's coaches.
 
Iowa State
The Cyclones return 12 players and welcome three newcomers to their 2023 squad after advancing to the second-round of the NCAA tournament last season for the 11^th time in program history. The No. 6-seeded Cyclones defeated FGCU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling to No. 3-seeded and 12^th-ranked Florida in the second round. With a 20-12 overall record last season, Iowa State secured its first 20-win season since 2018.
 
Head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch enters her 19^th-season at the helm for the Cyclones and is the reigning AVCA Regional Coach of the Year. Sophomore outside hitter Maya Duckworth was the only Iowa State freshman to be named an AVCA All-Region First Team selection. Duckworth also earned All-Big 12 Second-Team honors, making her the third ISU freshman to do so. Last season, the Cyclones handed No. 1 Texas its first and only loss of the season and the Longhorns would go on to win the national championship.
 
DePaul
The Blue Demons return 13 players from last season's squad, including All-Big East preseason selection Jill Pressly. Pressly earns the honor for the second-straight season after leading the Blue Demons in kills with 476 last season. The senior also earned a unanimous selection to the 2022 All-Big East team, picking up the postseason honor for the third consecutive season. Pressly finished second in the Big East in kills (4.03 kps) and points (4.45 pps) while compiling 17 double-doubles on the season. She put together six 20+ kill matches, including a 27-kill career-high in a five-set win over Xavier.
 
Head coach Marie Zidek is entering her sixth season as the leader of the Blue Demons. In 2021, Zidek led the Blue Demons to their first Big East Tournament in program history. DePaul put together a 19-12 overall record, the most wins for the program since the 2001 squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. After the recording breaking 2021 season, Zidek and her coaching staff earned Big East Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
 
Up Next
The Coyotes will head to Columbia, Missouri for the Tiger Invitational hosted by Missouri Sept. 1-3. While there, South Dakota will face national runner-up Louisville (Sept. 1), Missouri (Sept. 2), and Northern Kentucky (Sept. 3). South Dakota football will also be in Columbia next week as it opens the season at Missouri on Aug. 31 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.