CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team will hit the road to take on No. 2 Concordia University-St. Paul and Minnesota State University Fri., Oct. 13 and Sat., Oct. 14.

The Golden Eagles come into the weekend with a 4-13 (1-7 NSIC) mark and are looking to snap a six-game skid dating back to a Sept. 19 win over Bemidji State University. Minnesota Crookston came within a combined nine points in three sets against Upper Iowa University last Saturday but were unable to come away with wins in any of the three sets. They held late leads in 2-of-3 sets against the Peacocks.

Minnesota Crookston is averaging 10.3 kills per set on the season. They come into Friday hitting .152 on the season. The Golden Eagles have looked to the play of Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.), who has been among the best attackers in the NSIC this season. Green currently ranks fourth in the conference with 4.09 kills per set. The Golden Eagles are looking for consistency at second outside hitter position along with Green. Deaira Gresham (Fr., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) comes in tallying 1.44 kills per set on the season.

At middle hitter, Minnesota Crookston has looked to Kelci Green (R-Sr., MH, Anoka, Minn.), who leads the way with 2.11 kills and 0.82 blocks per set. Callie Schapekahm (Jr., MH, Eagan, Minn.) is coming off a strong match against Upper Iowa in which she hit .421 with nine kills and just one error. Schapekahm has averaged 1.30 kills and 0.54 blocks per set on the season. On the right-side, Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., RS, St. Charles, Minn.) is averaging 1.32 kills and 0.60 blocks per set.

Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Savage, Minn.) has been the go-to setter for the U of M Crookston. Hagen is tallying 8.45 assists and 2.55 digs per set.

At libero, Minnesota Crookston has looked to Maggie Perrel (R-Sr., Lib., New Germany, Minn.), who is tallying 3.32 digs per set. In addition to Perrel, Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., DS, Cannon Falls, Minn.) has been strong in the back-row with 2.70 digs per set.

Minnesota Crookston at Minnesota State
Fri., Oct. 13, 6 p.m.
Mankato, Minn.
Live Stats - http://www.sidearmstats.com/mnsu/wvball/
Live Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mnsu/

Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 9-8 (3-6 NSIC) record. The Mavericks lost both last weekend to No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. Minnesota State and Minnesota Crookston played Sept. 9 at the Max & Erma's Classic in Aberdeen, S.D. The Mavericks won 3-0 led by nine kills from Alivia Garbe and Jackie Jones.

The Mavericks have been led on the season by Sydney Powell's 3.26 kills per set. Powell is hitting .216 on the season. In addition, Garbe comes in tallying 2.42 kills per set. At setter, Minnesota State looks to a 6-2 rotation with Micayla Porter averaging 5.43 assists per set and Autumn Risch averaging 4.93 assists per set. Minnesota State comes into the weekend averaging 12.4 kills per set. They are hitting .220 as a team.

Defensively, Minnesota State is averaging 14.4 digs per set paced by Mara Quam's 4.07 digs per set. On the block, Ashton Lee leads the way with 0.70 blocks per set.

Minnesota Crookston at Concordia-St. Paul
Sat., Oct. 14, 2 p.m.
St. Paul, Minn.
Live Stats - http://cspbears.com/sports/2012/10/12/VB_1012124717.aspx?id=87
Live Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csp/

Concordia-St. Paul is coming off their eighth NCAA Division II National Championship since the 2007 season. The Golden Bears are currently 15-2 (8-1 NSIC) and boast a No. 2 national ranking.

Concordia-St. Paul is averaging 14.88 kills per set and they are hitting .268 on the season. The Golden Bears are a very potent offensive team with six players averaging over two kills per set. Brooklyn Lewis paces Concordia-St. Paul with 3.75 kills per set. She is hitting .306 on the season. Lewis is joined by Sara Macek, who is tallying 2.97 kills per set and hitting .401. Mariya Simpson is averaging 2.97 kills per set and hitting .238. The Golden Bears are guided by the play of their setter Elizabeth Mohr, who is averaging 13.25 assists per set.

Defensively, Concordia-St. Paul averages 16.11 digs per set. They look to the play of Tori Hanson, who averages 4.15 digs per set, while Hope Schiller is tallying 3.30 digs per set. On the block, the Golden Bears are led by Macek's 0.84 blocks per set, while Shelby Seurer is averaging 0.81 blocks per set.