Game Notes
Match Info

Opponent: Upper Iowa University
Date: Sept. 28, 7 p.m.
Location: Fayette, Iowa
Arena: Dorman Gymnasium
Live Stats: http://www.uiu.edu/peacocks/volleyball/xlive.htm
Opponent: Winona State University
Date: Sept. 29, 4 p.m.
Location: Winona, Minn.
Arena: McCown Gymnasium
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/winona/wvball/xlive.htm
Twitter: UMCAthletics
Facebook: Golden Eagle Sports

Quick Hits

• Acing It!
    The University of Minnesota, Crookston is currently the top team in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in service aces with 82 so far this year. Brittany Looker (So., OH, Rochester, Minn.) leads the team with 22 and also leads the conference. In addition, the Golden Eagles are ranked 33rd in the nation and Looker has the 34th-most aces by a single player in the nation. In the conference, Alexandra Skeeter (Jr., OH, Milwaukee, Wis.) and Paige Mitchell (R-Jr., S, West Palm Beach, Fla.) are also among the best.

• Leave It To Looker
    Brittany Looker (So., OH, Rochester, Minn.) had 23 kills and 19 digs last weekend in two matches against Wayne State College (Neb.) and Augustana College (S.D.). Looker had a strong weekend and has continued to lead the Golden Eagles in most of the team's matches this season.

• Golden Eagles Battle Former UMC Boss
    Former UMC head coach Dave Simon, who coached the Golden Eagles from 2000-06. Simon  guided 11 players to NSIC All-Conference honors. More then 20 Golden Eagles were named to the NSIC All-Academic team. Simon is in his fourth season as the head coach at Winona State. Simon is 4-1 in five matches against UMC.

• The Roaring 20's
    20 has been a key number for UMC this season. The Golden Eagles are 19-4 this season in sets where they reach 20 before their opponents. The only four set losses came in the first match of the season against Northern Michigan University and in a set versus Ferris State University and last weekend against Augustana College. In addition, UMC has come back and won five sets in which the opponent reached 20 first.

• Chasing Slepicka
    In just over two seasons, Chelsea Wiesner (Jr., Lib., Rochester, Minn.) has accumulated 1,117 digs and earlier this season she became just the third player ever to surpass the 1,000 digs mark. Wiesner needs 355 digs the rest of the season to surpass Jacyln Slepicka's mark of 1,471 digs. Wiesner needs 307 digs to surpass Joan Ebnet's second-place mark of 1,423.

• Turning It Around
    The Golden Eagles had a major turnaround last season after going 12-16 following an 0-28 season in 2010. With a 3-2 start in the conferenc start, UMC looks to be making the next step in the process. This weekend will be a big one in terms of the Golden Eagle's season to see if they can continue to build on how they have started.

• Top-Notch Competition
    UMC will once again go up against the top NCAA Division II competition in the nation as the NSIC boasts six teams in the AVCA Top 25 poll including Concordia-St. Paul, the five-time consecutive NCAA National Champion returns four AVCA All-American picks to the team heading into 2012. In addition, Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth are ranked in the top 10 while Wayne State (Neb.) is also ranked in the top 25.

• Defense, Defense, Defense
    The Golden Eagles currently rank sixth in the league for opponent hitting percentage and eighth in digs. A big part of the UMC defense has been the play of Chelsea Wiesner at libero. Wiesner is currently ranked sixth in the league for digs and 85th nationally.

The Scoop

Previewing the Golden Eagles

    The University of Minnesota, Crookston will look to rebound from two hard-fought losses against No. 21 Wayne State College (Neb.) and Augustana College (S.D.) last weekend. Coming into the weekend, the Golden Eagles had started 3-0 in the NSIC for the first time in school history. UMC will take on Upper Iowa University Friday and Winona State University Saturday.

    The Golden Eagles are paced by Brittany Looker (So., OH, Rochester, Minn.), who is averaging 3.00 kills per set. In addition, the UMC offense will look to senior right side Amanda Swann (Rochester Hills, Mich.), who is averaging 2.42 kills per set and Alexandra Skeeter (Jr., OH, Milwaukee, Wis.), who comes in averaging 2.15 kills per set. Two players have continued to split duties at setter for the Golden Eagles. Paige Mitchell (R-Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) leads the duo with 4.81 assists per set while Lindsey Rees (R-Jr., Bronson, Mich.) is averaging 4.38 assists per set.

    Defensively, Chelsea Wiesner (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) has continued to be an asset for the UMC defense. Wiesner is helping UMC hold opponents to a .161 hitting percentage while averaging 4.45 digs per set. The Golden Eagle defense is helped by the block of Morgan VanGerpen (So., MH, Overland Park, Kan.), who is averaging 0.77 block per set, and Alyssa Schneider (Jr., MH, Racine, Wis.), who is averaging 0.62 blocks per set.

Previewing the Peacocks

    Upper Iowa University enters the weekend with an 8-6 mark (2-3 NSIC). The Peacocks are led by second-year head coach Aaron Nelson, who came over after one year as an assistant at Concordia University, St. Paul. Offensively, Melanie Behnke, a 5-10 outside hitter, leads the way averaging  3.71 kills per set. At setter, Skylar Lesan enters the weekend averaging 9.49 assists per set and has helped Upper Iowa to a .196 hitting percentage. Defensively, Amanda Weiss leads the way with 4.12 digs per set while 6-2 Kayla Wagner has been one of the best blockers in the league averaging 1.38 blocks per set.

Previewing the Warriors

    Winona State University has started off the season in great fashion as they currently lead the league with a 5-0 record. They are the only team left in the league without a loss. Winona State is 13-2 so far on the season. The Warriors are paced on offense by three players who have been quite prolific. Bekah Saugen comes in averaging 3.07 kills per set while Kate Horihan is averaging 2.96 kills per set and Katie Froehle is averaging 2.77 kills per set. The Warriors are hitting .200 as a team helped by the trio of Elena Kruesel, Kaley Jacobson and Kayla Uhlenhake. Kruesel leads the three players averaging 5.20 assists per set. Defensively, Maggie Finkel leads the way with 4.79 digs per set while Kathy Lohff is one of the best blockers in the league with 1.38 blocks per set.