It’s a brand new year for Coyote volleyball and with the new year comes a state-of-the-art arena that the team will call home.
The opening of the Sanford Coyote Sports Center as well as tournaments at Tulsa, University of the Pacific and Iowa highlight South Dakota’s 2016 volleyball schedule which head coach Leanne Williamson released on Friday.
South Dakota starts the season Aug. 26-27 in Tulsa, Okla., where, the team will face Tulsa, SEC’s Alabama and Incarnate Word. The home opener and the Coyotes first match in the new Sanford Coyote Sports Center is Aug. 30 against North Dakota.
Also during the year, South Dakota will compete against the Pac-12’s Oregon State, Big Ten’s Iowa and the Big 12’s Iowa State, which made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past year. Of South Dakota’s 13 non-conference opponents, five had winning records in 2015. The 13 foes come from 10 different conferences.
USD starts Summit League play Sept. 23 at Western Illinois. The Coyotes will play 16 Summit League matches, eight home and eight away. The team will get their first look at defending regular season and Summit League Tournament Champion Denver on Oct. 16 in Denver. In the home finale, South Dakota will host rival South Dakota State for senior day Nov. 12.
