VERMILLION, S.D. – Three matches against NCAA tourney teams in 2020 highlight the 2021 South Dakota volleyball schedule released Monday by head coach Leanne Williamson.
 
The Coyotes' 30-match schedule includes eight non-conference matches against teams that finished the abbreviated spring season with RPI's in the top 100. Eleven of the 12 non-conference foes finished with a winning record during an NCAA season that was entirely pushed to the spring for most of the Division I teams in the nation.
 
South Dakota fashioned a 15-7 overall record in 2020 and won the Summit League tournament championship to earn the program's second NCAA Division I tournament berth in the last three seasons.
 
"We are very excited about this schedule," Williamson said. "This is the most challenging schedule that South Dakota volleyball will have ever played, but I know that this team is prepared for the challenge!
 
"We believe this schedule will set us up for success throughout the whole season. With our group of returners and the group of players that have joined our team this offseason, I know we will be in a good place to compete regionally and nationally."
 
NCAA tourney teams in Louisville, Missouri and Creighton dot the schedule this fall while the Coyotes will open the season against the Big Ten's Northwestern Wildcats for the second time in the last four seasons. That's three teams from Power Five conferences on this fall's schedule.
 
South Dakota will take part in non-conference tournaments in Greeley, Colorado, Louisville, Kentucky, and Wichita, Kansas, as well as hosting the South Dakota Classic.
 
The season opener between the Coyotes and Northwestern, played in Greeley on Aug. 27 will be the second meeting ever as the teams opened the 2018 season with Northwestern securing a 3-1 win. A first-ever meeting with Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado, awaits that same evening followed by a return to Greeley to face old-North Central Conference rival Northern Colorado on Aug. 28. The old rivals will be meeting for the fifth time in the DI era.
 
Colorado State and Northern Colorado each had RPI's inside the top 100 in 2020 while the Lady Bears went 15-4 and were the Big Sky tournament runners-up.
 
The Coyotes head to Louisville in week two (Sept. 4-6) to face a pair of returning NCAA tournament teams that both finished the season ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25.
 
Louisville finished 15-3 while Missouri, who defeated South Dakota in the NCAA first round, was 16-8 as both fell in the second round of the 48-team NCAA tournament played in April of 2021. Northern Kentucky rounds out the four-team field where all four teams had RPI's inside the top 100. It will be first-ever meetings between the Coyotes and Louisville and Northern Kentucky.
 
Coach Williamson's alma mater UW Milwaukee, along with Bradley and Central Arkansas, make up the three teams that will come to Vermillion for the South Dakota Classic on Sept. 9-11.
 
Bradley went 12-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference while Central Arkansas was 12-8 and finished as the Southland tournament runners-up.
 
Milwaukee, where Williamson starred as a player for four seasons, went 8-6 and finished fifth in the Horizon League in 2021. The teams have split the prior two series meetings, both taken place in Milwaukee.
 
The final non-conference weekend (Sept. 17-18) on the schedule takes South Dakota to Wichita where Wyoming, Creighton and Wichita State await.
 
The Coyotes and Bluejays played a home-and-home series in the spring, with each team winning on the other's home court. It will be the eighth-meeting between the schools in the Division I era. Wichita State and South Dakota opened the spring season against each other while Wyoming is on the schedule for the first time since 2019.
 
The 18-match Summit League slate begins inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Sept. 24 with the South Dakota Showdown Series against South Dakota State. The two teams will play in Brookings on Oct. 22.
 
St. Thomas of Saint Paul, Minnesota, makes the leap from DIII to DI and joins the Summit League this fall. The Tommies won 30 matches in their last full season of competition in 2019. St. Thomas and South Dakota will square off inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Oct. 7.
 
"The addition of St. Thomas to the Summit League is great," said Williamson. "We love to see the league grow, and I believe that St. Thomas will be a great addition."
 
South Dakota, by virtue of winning the 2019 Summit League regular season title, will host the 2021 Summit League tournament inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center from November 25-27.
 
The Coyotes captured the 2020 Summit League tournament title with a pair of thrilling five-set wins over Kansas City and Denver inside the Sanford Pentagon in April.
 
"It is certainly an interesting feeling not having the spring season to break some of the skills down, especially with our underclassmen," Williamson said. "However, everyone is in the same position.
 
"Season is always something that we look forward to, and this year is no different. I'm optimistic that the season will be more of a normal feel for both our athletes and our fans!"

Season tickets for Coyote Volleyball start at $95 includes a ticket for the match at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Single game tickets will go on sale Monday, August 16th. Group rates are available.  For more information and to purchase tickets please visit GoYotes.com/Tickets or call the Coyote Ticket Office at 605-677-5959.