Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ST. LOUIS, Mo..- The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team started out the season with a sweep of their opponents Kentucky Wesleyan College and St. Joseph's College (Ind.) at Moloney Arena in St. Louis, Mo., as part of the Maryville Invitational. The Golden Eagles start out the season on good footing as they are 2-0 heading into day two at the tournament.

Minnesota Crookston took the first match of the season 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18) after losing the first set of Friday morning's match. The Golden Eagles were led by 2013 All-NSIC First Team pick Brittany Looker (Sr., OH, Rochester, Minn.), who had a strong match with 18 kills, eight digs and a .310 hitting percentage. In addition to Looker, redshirt freshman Kassi Green (R-Fr., RS, Anoka, Minn.) had a strong debut with nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage. Stephanie Pearson (Jr., OH, Frankfort, Ill.) and Erin Schwarz (So., MH, Eden Prairie, Minn.) each added six kills.

At setter, Sierra Trost (So., S, Ham Lake, Minn.) helped the UMC offense hit .276 for the match with 45 kills and 16 errors. Trost finished the Kentucky Wesleyan match with 34 assists. Defensively, Mary Mikutowski (Sr., Lib., Stillwater, Minn.) made her debut at libero with 12 digs. On the block, Schwarz was strong with one block solo and four block assists.

Kentucky Wesleyan hit .035 for the match, hitting negative in the three sets UMC won. Summer Alford led Kentucky Wesleyan with 12 kills and a .207 hitting percentage. At setter, Courtney Gildea had 19 assists. Defensively, the Panthers were paced by 14 digs from Hannah Hudnall. Kentucky Wesleyan was 26-7 during the 2013 campaign.

In the second match of the season, UMC again won 3-1 (25-21, 27-29, 25-15, 25-23) in a hard-fought match with the Saint Joseph's College (Ind.) Pumas. UMC again looked to Looker who would finish the day's two matches with 39 kills after posting 21 and a .233 hitting percentage against Saint Joseph's. Looker averaged a very impressive 4.88 kills per set in the two matches. UMC also got a strong performance from their other outside hitter in the match as Pearson had 11 kills with a .176 hitting percentage.

At setter, Trost led the way with 44 assists as UMC hit .168 for the second match. Defensively, UMC was strong with five players posting double-figure dig marks. Looker led the team with a double-double, posting 17 digs. Mikutowski chipped in 15, while Kaycie Hagen (Fr., S, Savage, Minn.), Trost and Pearson all chipped in double-figure digs, as well. Pearson also had a double-double on the night.

Saint Joseph's was led by Kate Wagenaar's 18 kills and Anna Sacco's 11 kills. The Pumas hit .132 for the match.
Megan Sturm led the team with 18 assists while Lauren Roberts added 16. Jackie Purcell led the team with 20 digs while Wagenaar completed a double-double with 13.

The Golden Eagles will continue the Maryville Invitational as they host West Liberty University at 9 a.m. in St. Louis, Mo. and Maryville at 5 p.m.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
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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).