(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Volleyball team hits the road this Friday and Saturday to close out the 2011 season at Upper Iowa and Winona State. The Golden Eagles defeated both teams just two short weeks ago when they visited UMC (UIU 3-2 / WSU 3-0). Minnesota, Crookston will play Upper Iowa on Friday, November 11 at 7 p.m. and travel to Winona state for a match on Saturday, November 12 at 3 p.m.
 
Minnesota, Crookston (12-16, 6-12 NSIC)- The Golden Eagle Volleyball team went 1-2 in NSIC play last week. Minnesota, Crookston fell 3-2 to Minnesota State on Tuesday and #1 Minnesota Duluth 3-0 on Friday before defeating Bemidji State 3-1 on Saturday. Brittany Looker (OH, 5-10, Fr., Rochester, Minn.) led the Golden Eagle offense on the weekend with 42 kills in nine sets for a 3.50 K/S average. Morgan VanGerpen (MH, 6-0, Fr., Overland Park, Kan.) tallied 13 kills and knocked down 15 block assists in the three matches. Senior Danielle Rueter (OH, 5-9, Sr., Burlington, Wis.) added 16 kills and led the Golden Eagles with eight service aces while libero Chelsea Wiesner (DS, 5-8, So., Rochester, Minn.) finished with 57 defensive digs (4.75 Dig/S).
 
Upper Iowa (14-14, 7-11 NSIC)-  The Peacocks lost a pair of matches this weekend at Augustana and #10 Wayne State; Friday's loss came in five sets, while UIU forced their nationally-ranked opponents to four sets on Saturday. Nicky Brown led the Peacocks on offense with 30 kills followed closely by Sara Vance, who registered 29. Skylar Lesan dished out 91 assists for the Peacocks, while Amanda Weiss led the defense from the back row with 37 digs. Maryn Fulton and Kayla Wagner each posted 10 blocks for Upper Iowa in the nine sets. Upper Iowa will return home for their final two matches of the 2011 season.
 
Winona State (13-15, 7-11 NSIC)- Shannon McGowan, L, Sr., Naperville, IL (Nequa Valley) became Winona State's all-time leader in digs, recording 48 digs in three Warrior contests. McGowan now has 2,325 career digs, passing the previous mark set by Stephanie Rieder (2,277, 1991-94).
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at: www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at #UMCAthletics.
 
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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