VERMILLION, S.D.–The original squad of the volleyball team, or so they call themselves, consists of Rachel Schmidt, Brittany Jessen and Kelly Law. All three of them came to the USD volleyball program from the Northern Lights volleyball club out of Minnesota and have developed an unbreakable bond during their time as Yotes.
 
Schmidt and Jessen played on the same team all throughout their club years, while Law played on a different team in the program. During the duration of their final season with the Northern Lights, each committed to South Dakota at different times and soon the friendship between the three kindled.
 
"The summer before coming to USD, when we all knew that we were going to be teammates that was kind of the start of it," Law said. "We were talking about shower curtains that we wanted for our dorm and those kind of fun questions."
 
Going into the first year of college and joining a new team can be a struggle at times, but having familiar faces helped with the transition.
 
"Coming to campus those first couple days and seeing familiar faces was such a relief," Schmidt added. "Britt had come to campus earlier than I did, so the fact that she had already been here and could show me around. It was nice knowing I already had a friend coming here."
 
Entering into their freshman year as Coyotes, the trio all lived together. Being from the same club program and now on the same college team was common ground for them all, but the connection that they currently have took a little longer to form.
 
"The funny thing is, Brittany was friends with me and with Kelly, but Kelly and I weren't really friends," Schmidt said. "It's not like we hated each other by any means, we both just weren't super comfortable with each other yet."
 
"It seems ridiculous now," Law added. "Honestly every day we would say good morning while we were getting ready and then at the end of the night we would see how each other's days were and go to our separate rooms. We just didn't speak.
 
"The three of us were trying to figure out what our place was at USD and how to do the college thing," Jessen said.
 
Looking at them now, it is as if they have been friends their entire lives. The trio will part ways at the end of this school year with Jessen and Law's time as Yote volleyball players coming to an end. Because of Schmidt's redshirt year, she has one more season with the USD volleyball team, but without her original squad members.
 
"It has been tough since the injury," Schmidt said. "Seeing Britt and Kelly play and knowing I won't be able to play with them again is sad. But I think of how blessed I have been to have the years that I did with them."
 
"We had a moment in the locker room recently when we realized we weren't going to be able to play together again," Jessen added. "It was super sad."
 
"Britt and Rachel are two people that I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life," Law said. "The three of us care about each other so much and the bond that we've made these last three years is kind of ridiculous."
 
The squad has four regular season games together before entering into postseason play. Regular season continues for the Coyotes (14-8 overall, 8-2 league) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center as they face up against Omaha (9-14 overall, 6-4 league).