Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team finished the Maryville University Invitational with an unblemished mark mark after defeating West Liberty University 3-1 and rallying from two down to defeat Maryville University, 3-2. 

The Golden Eagles started out the day with a dominant performance against West Liberty. The Golden Eagles hit .288 on the day led by another stand out performance from Brittany Looker (Sr., OH, Rochester, Minn.), who hit .373 and had 23 kills on the day.  In addition to Looker, setter Sierra Trost (So., S, Ham Lake, Minn.) had 38 assists and added nine kills on the match. Erin Schwarz (So., MH, Eden Prairie, Minn.) also stepped up with seven kills and a .636 hitting percentage.

Defensively, sophomore Casey Cashman (DS/Lib., Ashland, Wis.) had the best performance of her career so far with 25 digs. Looker added nine, as did Trost and Stephanie Pearson (Jr., OH, Frankfort, Ill.). Kelci Green (R-Fr., MH, Anoka, Minn.) and Schwarz each had three block assists on game one.

West Liberty was led by 12 kills from Chelsea Bertie and Nicole Sadecky. Setter Chelsea Byrge finished the night with 33 assists. Defensively, Courtney Pyeritz led the way with 19 digs, while Sadecky added 13 and Megan Lawless added 12. Sydney Scherer had three block assists on the night.

In match two of the day against Maryville, the Golden Eagles came back after battling from down 2-0 to force a fifth set. UMC woul battle to take the set, 16-14, in set five, winning 3-2 (17-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-11m, 16-14) over the Saints.

Looker continued her dominant start to the season as she tallied a career-high 29 kills and hit .304 for the match. In her first four matches of the season, the 2013 All-NSIC First Team performer averaged an astonishing 5.35 kill per set and hitting .304 for the weekend. 

In addition to Looker, Schwarz added 10 kills and hit .238 for the match. The team hit .165 for the match led by 52 assists from Trost. 

Defensively, Pearson led the way with 16 digs, while Looker completed a double-double with 14 digs. Cashman also added 14 digs, while Kaycie Hagen (Fr., S, Savage, Minn.) had 11 digs. 

Maryville was led by 13 kills from Ashley Selman, while Maddie Timmerman added 11. Taryn Trubich had 26 assists on the game while Ali Lampen led the team with 26 digs. Hana Michael chipped in 16 digs.
The Golden Eagles will head to the Northern State University Invitational next weekend to take on Minot State University, Southwest Baptist University, St. Cloud State University and Northern State University.

In addition to Looker's performance, Schwarz had a productive first weekend from middle hitter, averaging 1.75 kills and 1.06 blocks while hitting .304. In addition, Trost averaged 9.88 assists per set, while Mary Mikutowski (Sr., Lib., Stillwater, Minn.) led the team with 3.78 digs per set. 

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).