Conference Begins

[announcerbob]

The Lady Yotes begin conference play on Friday, Sept. 27th vs. Oral Roberts and again on Sunday, Sept. 29th vs North Dakota.  We need your support at these games.

Oral Roberts (4-10) 
Their non-conference schedule has been a decent one preparing them for the Summit League. ORU is coming into the contest on a bit of a skid losing 7 straight, most recently losing 3-0 to Minnesota.

Leading ORU on offense is CeCe Madison currently third in the conference in kills with 189  and Laura Shoopman with 107.
On Defense ORU is led by Bree Greenlee with 34 blocks on the season.
Sylvia Lawson is the setter with 445 assists on the season - currently sits 4th in the conference standings.

Coach - 16th Season

North Dakota (8-6)
Not knowing much about the teams on their non-conference schedule, I can't provide much insight here.
Leading the Fighting Hawks on offense is Sr RS Hitter Ashely Brueggeman with 155 kills good enough to sit 5th in the confernce. She is followed by MH Lydia Rutten with 115 (keep on eye on this one)
On defense ND is lead by the same two leads with 38 & 54 blocks respectively.
It appears ND may run 2 different setters onto the court ( a form of a six two offense) in Payton Sewell and Julia Vetter with 301 & 159 assists respectively.
ND has some length with 10 players 6'0 or taller


Coach - 1st Season as Head Coach with ND 

Summary: 
 - The team is coming into the game playing smart poised volleyball.  Even when faced with set or match points they seem to find a way to get what they need.
 - Madison J. is spreading the ball around nicely finding what is working and going there. 
 - The hitter appear to be doing their jobs - currently leading the league with a .291 hitting percentage 
 - While on paper USD is currently sitting 5th in the conference in digs (bread and butter) the defensive blocks and hitting percentage is significantly lowering their chances. Trust me when I say our         defense is still one of the best in the league.

 - Coach Williamson has a solid rotation but more importantly has very good depth to help carry through a long grueling conference season.  It is time to get the train moving!!!  Go Yotes!!! 

[kiyoat]

Great preview! I would just add that UND has played by far the worst schedule in the conference. While I don’t blame them (obviously their coach knew this was going to be a rebuilding year), take their W-L record with a grain of salt.

Also, we may be 5th in total digs, but are still first in digs-per-set. We have played less sets because of all the 3-0 sweeps!

[announcerbob]

Kiyoat, thanks for the ND schedule update. I couldn't have said it better myself on the dig situation. The back row defense has been stellar again this year. Keep Up the solid play and things will go well for you.

[kiyoat]

[announcerbob]

The Lady Yotes came away with a victory last night vs Oral Roberts. It wasn't the prettiest of matches but most importantly, they found a way to come out victorious.

Offensively: the Lady Yotes were lead by Sami Slaughter (Career High - 23 kills) and Elizabeth Juhnke (17 kills) hitting a strong .293 percent.
Defense: Madison Harms lead the block party for 4 with the team handing out 12. I am typically THE biggest fan of the Coyote defense but this game was not one of the strongest performance. What did impress me the most was the team found a way to push through to a victory despite that. These types of defensive games won't happen often so not really concerned at this point.

One Side Note that does have me a bit concerned is the recurrence of service errors in the game. They are correctable and I am positive Coach Williamson will work to solve.

I know I am being ultra picky, but I feel this team can do something special when it is all said and done.

[yoteforever]

USD vs. UND today at 1. Get there if you can. I’m making the 2 hour drive over and hope to see a few hundred people there.

[kiyoat]

[announcerbob]

The Lady Yotes volleyball team remained undefeated in conference with a 3-0 win over North Dakota. The offense was lead with 3 players with double digits kills. (Juhnke -13, Slaughter - 10 & Loschen - 10) The first set was a tight one, but the last 2 were all Coyotes. The Yote Defense was up to their normal greatness today against an over matched Fighting Hawks team. Anne Rasmussen lead the team with 14 digs with Juhnke achieving a double double with 11 and Madison J. also reaching 11 digs. Madison Jurgens also had 38 assists.

Next week will be a crucial one as the Lady Yotes take on two of the better teams in the Conference. On Friday, they host Omaha (2-0 Summit) and Sunday they travel to Denver (1-1 Summit & Preseason Conference selection). We need to pack the SCSD to support our Yotes during the D-Days week celebration.