Box Score CROOKSTON, Minn. – Hitting errors were the name of the game as the University of Minnesota, Crookston fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) to No. 21 Wayne State College (Neb.) in the home opener for the Golden Eagles at Lysaker Gymnasium Friday night. The Golden Eagles had 24 errors compared to only nine for their foes from Wayne, Neb. The loss is the first in conference play for UMC and drops the Golden Eagles from the blemish free teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. University of Minnesota Duluth and Winona State University remain undefeated in conference play while UMD is undefeated on the season through 13 matches. UMC is now 7-4 (3-1 NSIC), while Wayne State improves to 9-3 (3-1 NSIC).
 
Brittany Looker (So., OH, Rochester, Minn.) led the way for the University of Minnesota, Crookston with 10 kills. As a team they hit .119 for the match. Alexandra Skeeter (Jr., OH, Milwaukee, Wis.) and Amanda Swann (Sr., OH, Rochester Hills, Mich.) chipped in eight kills. At setter, Paige Mitchell (R-Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) paced UMC with 17 assists.
 
Defensively UMC had three players in double-figure digs as Skeeter had 16, Chelsea Wiesner (Jr., Lib., Rochester, Minn.) had 15 and Looker had 13. With 13 digs and 10 kills, Looker notched her sixth double-double of the season.
 
Wayne State hit .272 as a team for the match led by Alex Armes with 11 kills and a .474 attack percentage. Leisa McClintock did a great job guiding the Wildcat hitters with 37 assists.
 
Defensively, Wayne State was paced by four block assists from Armes and 19 digs from VanGroningen.
 
The Golden Eagles and Wildcats played a hard-fought first set before UMC fell to the Wildcats 25-21. The Golden Eagles were out hit .400 to .213 in hitting percentage for the first set. Both teams had 17 kills. Wayne State was paced by Armes' eight kills and .636 hitting percentage through the first game. McClintock had 16 assists for the Wildcats while VanGroningen led Wayne State defensively with eight digs in frame one.
 
UMC was paced by Looker, who had six kills and hit .455 in the first set. Mitchell guided the team with seven assists in the first set while defensively Skeeter had seven digs in the first set.
 
In set two, after a close match through the first 16 points, the Wildcats were able to pull away after being tied 8-8 aided by several attack errors from the Golden Eagles. Wayne State hit .250 as a team compared to .135 for UMC. The Golden Eagles were led by Skeeter's four kills and .222 attack percentage. Lindsey Rees (R-Jr., S, Bronson, Mich.) had eight assists while defensively Wiesner led UMC with eight digs.
 
Wayne State played a very balanced set two with three players leading the team with three kills. McClintock had 13 assists while VanGroningen led the defense with six digs.
 
In set three, the Wildcats and Golden Eagles were close early with UMC even leading 13-12 but a combination of Golden Eagles attack errors and Wayne State service aces doomed the team as they fell 25-16 in set three and lost the match 3-0. Cori Hobbs led the Wildcats with four kills while McClintock had eight assists. Defensively, Wayne State was paced by VanGroningen's five digs.
 
The Golden Eagles struggled with the errors in set three with only nine kills and 10 attack errors. Katie Miedtke (Jr., MH, Maple Grove, Minn.) led the team in the set with four kills and hit a blemish free 1.000 with four total attacks. Mitchell led the team with five assists in the set while Looker had six digs.
 
UMC's 3-0 mark going into today was the best start in program history. The Golden Eagles will look to bounce back as they meet Augustana College (S.D.) at 5 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium to conclude an event filled sports day for UMC's homecoming that begins at 11 a.m. as the women's soccer team plays Augustana and also includes a 1 p.m. football game pitting the Golden Eagles versus Southwest Minnesota State University.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site 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).
 
 
                                                                                 -30-