SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota is dancing for the third straight season! For the fourth time in five years, the Coyotes will represent the Summit League at the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament. Summit League regular season and tournament title holder, South Dakota, claimed a spot in the field of 64 and begin its journey Friday against fifth-seeded Houston at D.J. Sokol Arena at the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center on the campus of Creighton.
Not only is South Dakota playing in a postseason tournament, three #SummitVB members, Omaha, North Dakota State and South Dakota State, have been invited to compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship tournament in a field of 32 teams.
NCAA Tournament - First Round
Saturday, Nov. 12 – Omaha, Neb. | D.J. Sokol Arena
Omaha vs. No. 5 seed Houston | 3:30 p.m. CT
NIVC Tournament - First Round
Friday, Dec. 2 – Winston-Salem, N.C. | Reynolds Gym
North Dakota State vs. Davidson | 3 p.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 2 – Edinburg, Texas | UTRGV Fieldhouse
South Dakota State vs. Louisiana | 5 p.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 2 – Portland State | Viking Pavilion
Omaha vs. Pacific | 4 p.m. PT
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TEAM TRACKER
COYOTES (29-3; 16-2 SL) | @SDCoyotesVB
Next Up: vs. No. 5 seed Houston (12/2; 3:30p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. No. 4 Denver (W, 3-0); at No. 2 Omaha (W, 3-0)
For the third straight season and fourth time overall, South Dakota won the Summit League Championship title with a sweep of Denver in the semifinals and Omaha in the title match ... Championship MVP Elizabeth Juhnke collected a combined 26 kills in two matches, including her 23rd double-double of the season with 11 kills and a match-high 15 digs against the Mavericks ... She extended a league and program record for the most kills in a season as she is at 660 kills, which still leads the nation ... Not only does the Lakeville, Minn., native lead the nation in total kills, she leads the nation in points with 737.5 ... Madi Woodin put up a match-high 34 assists in a sweep over DU with nine digs, three block assists and a service ace ... She followed up that performance by registering a match-high 35 assists with 11 digs and a service ace en route to All-Tournament team honors ... Kylen Sealock garnered a match and career tying-high 14 kills in the title game to earn All-Tournament accolades ... South Dakota will meet fifth-seeded Houston (28-3, 19-1 American) in the Creighton region in a first-round match on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT at D.J. Sokol Arena in the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center ... This is Houston’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2000 ... The Cougars have built an impressive resume, including a pair of wins over teams in the top 50 of the NCAA’s RPI and no losses against teams outside the top 20 ... The winner of the South Dakota-Houston match will face either No. 4 seed Creighton (27-4) or Auburn (21-8) on Saturday.
MAVERICKS (20-10; 14-4 SL) | @OmahaVB
Next Up: vs. Pacific (12/2; 6 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. No. 3 North Dakota State (W, 3-1); vs. No. 1 South Dakota (L, 3-0)
The Mavericks earned its second consecutive trip to the Summit League Championship match, but fell short once again to South Dakota in straight sets ... In the four-set semifinal victory against third-seeded North Dakota State, Shayla McCormick picked up her 18th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 17 digs while Marriah Buss joined McCormick with 12 kills of her own ... Mariah Murdie and Freshman of the Year Kali Jurgensmeier paced the team in blocks with Murdie stopping seven shots and Jurgensmeier with four ... McKenna Ruch picked up three service aces for just the second time this season and along with her eight kills and four total blocks, she tied McCormick for the team lead with 13.5 points ... McCormick registered her 19th double-double against the Coyotes, racking up 12 kills and 12 digs while leading the team with five total blocks to earn All-Tournament honors ... Ruch, who joined McCormick on the All-Tournament team, posted six kills, four digs and three blocks assists in the title match ... Omaha was invited to compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship and will face Pacific in the first round on Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Portland State ... The Tigers (16-13, 8-10 WCC) are making their second straight trip and third overall to the NIVC as it earned an at-large bid ... The winner of the Omaha-Pacific match will play the winner of the Portland State-Santa Clara match on Saturday at 9 p.m. CT.
BISON (21-11; 13-5 SL) | @NDSUVolleyball
Next Up: vs. Davidson (12/2; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. No. 6 North Dakota (W, 3-0); at No. 2 Omaha (L, 3-1)
No. 3 North Dakota State rolled past No. 6 North Dakota, 3-0, in the quarterfinal of the #SummtiVB Championship in which Ali Hinze, who was named an All-Tournament team honoree, led the way with 10 kills, six digs and three blocks for the Bison ... All-First team members Syra Tanchin (10 kills, 9 digs) and Kelley Johnson (27 assists, 8 digs, 3 service aces) rounded out the top performers against the Fighting Hawks ... In the four-set loss to No. 2 Omaha in the semifinals ... Hinze paces the Bison with a match-high 14 kills to go along with nine digs ... Michelle Artis totaled 13 kills with seven blocks, while Logan O’Brien notched a match-high 18 digs ... Johnson, the League’s Setter of the Year, posted a match-best 41 assists and 13 digs ... NDSU will face Davidson on Friday at 2 p.m. CT in the NIVC first round hosted by Wake Forest and will play the winner of the Wake Forest-Coppin State match on Saturday in the second round ... Davidson’s (20-10, 14-4 A-10) invitation to the NIVC comes 22 years after the Wildcats’ last postseason appearance when they made it to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons (1999 & 2000) ... The Bison finished the regular season reaching the 20-win mark for only the fifth time in the Division I era with a 21-11 overall record.
JACKRABBITS (17-14; 11-7 SL) | @GoJacksVB
Next Up: vs. Louisiana (12/2; 4 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. No. 4 Denver (L, 3-2)
South Dakota State battled it out against fourth-seeded Denver in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Championships, but the Jackrabbits fell just short ... Crystal Burk notched 25 kills, two shy of her career best and a league tournament record 95 attacks, which tops a single-match mark in the nation this year ... Setter Raegen Reilly’s 51 assists surpassed the 2,000 career assists milestone and became SDSU’s single-season assists leader for the 25-point rally scoring era ... Masa Scheierman and Ella Thompson joined Burk in double figures, tallying 11 kills apiece and Jadyn Makovicka paced the Jackrabbits with a season-high 28 digs ... SDSU was invited to the NIVC tournament and will open against Louisiana (15-12, 8-8 Sun Belt) on the campus of UTRGV on Friday at 4 p.m. CT ... The winner of that match advances to take on the winner of UTRGV (25-6) and Houston Christian (23-10) on Saturday ... The Ragin’ Cajuns are making their first postseason appearance and closed the regular season strong winning five of their last eight outings before advancing into the quarterfinals at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
#SummitVB
