(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Volleyball team is back on the road this weekend after five straight home matches. In those matches, the Golden Eagles went 3-2 and look to continue the success against Northern State on Friday and U-Mary on Saturday. Match times are scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Wolves and 4 p.m. against the Marauders.

Minnesota, Crookston (7-9, 2-5 NSIC)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Volleyball team went 2-1 on the week. The Golden Eagles defeated Sioux Falls and #13 Minnesota State 3-0 and fell to South¬west Minnesota State 0-3. Brittany Looker (OH, 5-10, Fr., Rochester, Minn.) led the Golden Eagle offense with 27 kills on the week for a 3.00 kill/set average. Amanda Swann (OH, 6-0, Jr., Rochester, Mich.) finished the week with 21 kills and a solid .326 attack percentage. Against USF, she led the Golden Eagles with a sensational .889 (8K-0E-9TA) attack percentage. Libero Chelsea Wiesner (DS, 5-8, So., Rochester, Minn.) tallied 37 digs for a 4.11 dig/set average. Katie Miedtke (MH, 5-10, So., Maple Grove, Minn.) played great at the net earning 11 (2 solo, 9 assisted) total blocks in nine sets and averaged 1.22 blocks/set.

Northern State (7-7, 2-5 NSIC)-  Senior outside hitter Amber Bloom (OH, 5-10, Sr., Carlton, Minn./Carlton HS) returned to top form last weekend, putting down 28 total kills and hitting .351 on 57 swings in a pair of five-set battles for the Wolves. Bloom had 18 kills, including 11 in the final two sets alone, in Friday night's loss to Upper Iowa. She committed just four errors in that match, while tallying one dig and a pair of blocks. The senior left-hander returned on Saturday for 10 kills and three blocks in the Wolves' 3-2 win over Winona State. Bloom missed the last half of the 2010 season with a knee injury. Morgan Richardson (S, 6-1, Fr., Cave Creek, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) recorded her first career 60-assist effort on Friday, serving up 62 assists, 18 digs, two service aces and a block in a five-set loss to Upper Iowa. The effort marked the first 60+ assist performance by an NSU player since Megan Gilbraith tallied 67 against Jamestown in 2009. Richardson returned on Saturday to post 42 assists to lead the Wolves past Winona State in a second straight five-set match. She also had 15 digs and four blocks in the win.

University of Mary (2-14, 1-6)- Julie Paradine (OH, 5-10, Jr., Biscarth, Manitoba) hit double digits in kills in all three games during the week and also reached double figures in digs once. She opened the week with 13 kills and eight digs against Minot State before posting 13 kills and 14 digs against Winona State. Paradine finished with 12 kills and nine digs in the Upper Iowa game. For the week she averaged 2.92 kills and 2.38 digs… Morgan Dake (OH, 5-11, R-Fr., Bakersfield, CA) set a career-high with 12 kills against Winona State while hitting .417. She followed up with eight kills against Upper Iowa. The redshirt freshman averaged 2.18 kills per set and hit a team-high .385 over the three games. Allison Adams (MB, 6-0, Fr., Minneapolis, MN) had a tremendous defensive week in the middle, averaging 1.15 blocks per set. Adams started the week with eight blocks (seven assisted) against Minot State. She followed up with a four block effort against Winona State and three more in the Upper Iowa game. The freshman also had 10 kills against MSU and hit .421. For the week she averaged 1.77 kills and hit .312… Valerie Lesu (L, 5-4, Jr., Waipahu, HI) averaged 4.17 digs per set for the week. She hit double figures each game with a high of 23 against Winona State. Lesu also led the Marauders with six aces, including three against Minot State

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).


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