SIOUX FALLS, S.D.– The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team saw their season come to a close with a 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-13, 25-13) loss to University of Sioux Falls Nov. 11 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Minnesota Crookston tested Sioux Falls in the first half and responded with a key second set as they picked up the 25-18 win to knot the match. The Cougars would respond in the final two sets as they controlled the frames to take the 3-1 victory
Minnesota Crookston ends Head Coach
Sarah Rauen's first season with a 7-21 (4-16 NSIC) mark. Sioux Falls moved their mark to 15-10 (10-10 NSIC) with the win. The Cougars fell just outside of the NSIC Tournament as they finished ninth in the conference standings.
The Golden Eagles hit .103 for the match with 30 kills and 18 errors. Minnesota Crookston looked to
Kelci Green (R-Sr., MH, Anoka, Minn.) with 10 kills and a .231 hitting percentage. Green also controlled the block with nine block assists. Her nine block assists moved her to 294 career block assists, surpassing Erin Flynn for the all-time record. Green ended her career second all-time in total blocks with 350 blocks. She fell just 21 blocks shy of Flynn.
Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.) added nine kills and hit .304.
Maggie Perrel (R-Sr., OH, New Germany, Minn.) tallied five kills on the match.
Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Savage, Minn.) and
Alex Oakes (R-So., S, Cloquet, Minn.) ran a 6-2 system at setter for the Golden Eagles. Hagen paced the team with 16 assists, while Oakes notched 12 assists.
The Golden Eagles had 10 blocks on the match led by nine block assists from Green and eight block assists from
Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., RS, St. Charles, Minn.). Defensively, Minnesota Crookston had 51 digs on the day. Perrel led the team with 18 digs, while
Kassi Green added 12 digs.
Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., Lib., Cannon Falls, Minn.) notched 11 digs on the match.
Sioux Falls hit .201 for the match with 59 kills and 29 errors. The Cougars looked to 18 kills from Brian Barfnecht, who hit .417 for the match. Averey Yaksich added 14 kills and hit .179 for the match. At setter, Krista Goerger paced the team with 48 assists.
USF had seven blocks on the day paced by two solo blocks from Barfnecht. Defensively they had 62 digs paced by 22 from libero Janelle Lam. Barfnecht completed a double-double with 13 digs.
Sioux Falls jetted out to a 10-5 advantage in the first set after a kill from Makenna Rockeman. The Golden Eagles would be able to pull within 12-11 with a Rockeman attack error. USF countered with a 3-1 run to make the set 15-12 with an Abby Feyereisen kill. Minnesota Crookston countered to cut the lead to 17-16 with a kill from Perrel. Sioux Falls took eight of the final 12 points of the match as they went up 1-0 with a 25-20 win.
The Cougars got out to a 5-3 lead in the second set following a bad set from Hagen. Minnesota Crookston responded to knot the match up 5-5 with a Vandenheuvel service ace. Sioux Falls countered and took an 8-6 advantage with a Yaksich kill. The two teams would go back-and-forth before USF took a 12-10 lead on a Rockeman kill. Minnesota Crookston bounced back with a 7-0 run to go ahead 17-12. The Golden Eagles would take eight of the final 14 points in the match to knot things up 1-1 with a 25-18 set two victory.
Minnesota Crookston kept the third set close early on as they trailed just 10-9 following a
Kelci Green kill. However, Sioux Falls took 15 of the final 19 points to run away with a 25-13 set three victory.
The Golden Eagles again kept the set close early on as they were within one at 9-8 after a Lexi Scott attack error. Sioux Falls again controlled the end of the set as they took 16 of the final 21 points to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.
Minnesota Crookston said farewell to seniors
Kassi Green,
Kelci Green, Perrel, Vandenheuvel, Hagen,
Alyssa Muelken (Sr., MH, Savage, Minn.) and
Rachel Freund (Sr., OH, Jordan, Minn.). All seven players were integral parts in laying a foundation for the Golden Eagles and several players will forever be etched in the volleyball books. The Golden Eagles will return three players in Schapekahm, Sikkink and Deaira Gresham (Fr., OH, Maplewood, Minn.), who were regular starters during the 2017 season.
