WAYNE, Neb. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team had opportunities in the final two sets but fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-16) to No. 22 Wayne State College. The match was held at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. Fri., Sept. 28.

The Golden Eagles dropped to 4-10 (1-5 NSIC) with Friday's loss. Wayne State improved to 9-6 (3-3 NSIC) with the victory.

Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.) put down 15 kills and hit .195 for the match to lead Minnesota Crookston. Green leads the Golden Eagles with 3.98 kills per set on the season. Deaira Gresham (Fr., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) came off the bench to notch six kills and hit .190, while Kelci Green (R-Sr., MH, Anoka, Minn.) chipped in five kills.

Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Burnsville, Minn.) paced the Golden Eagles with 31 assists on the match as the Golden Eagles put down 34 kills and had 20 errors for a .105 hitting percentage.

Defensively, the Golden Eagles had an impressive 74 digs for 24.7 digs per match. Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., Lib., Cannon Falls, Minn.) led the way with 16 digs. Maggie Perrel (R-Sr., OH, New Germany, Minn.) notched 14 digs, while Hagen and Green both completed double-doubles with 11 and 13 digs respectively.

The Golden Eagles tallied five blocks on the match led by four block assists from Callie Schapekahm (Jr., MH, Eagan, Minn.) and three block assists from Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., MH, St. Charles, Minn.).

The Golden Eagles struggled on the serve as they had just one service ace on the match, which came from Kassi Green.

Wayne State hit .243 on the match with 47 kills and just 13 errors. Jaci Brehmer steered the offensive effort with 16 kills and a .517 hitting percentage. Erin Gross added 12 kills and hit .344. Megan Gebhardt guided the effort with 40 assists and no set errors.

Defensively, the Wildcats notched 71 digs on the match led by 19 from Alyssa Ballenger and Haley Kauth. Katie Stephens notched 13 digs. On the block, Wayne State looked to three block assists and a solo block from Brahmer.

Wayne State had early control of the first set, getting out to an 8-1 lead on a Perrel attack error. Minnesota Crookston used a 6-0 rally mid-way through the match to pull within 16-13 as Kassi Green notched the kill. The Wildcats closed out the set, taking the 25-16 win on a Stephens kill.

Minnesota Crookston set the tone of set two early on. The Golden Eagles got out to the 9-6 advantage following a Brahmer attack error. Wayne State would be able to take the lead on a Gebhardt service ace to make it 11-0. However, the Golden Eagles responded and went back into the driver's seat 14-13 with a Kassi Green kill. Wayne State rallied to take the lead back 18-16 on a Stephens kill. However, the Golden Eagles countered to knot the match up 18-18 on another Kassi Green kill. The Wildcats closed the set out by taking 7-of-8 points to with 25-19 and go up 2-0 in the match.

Minnesota Crookston started out with good momentum in the third set as it was tied 8-8 following a Schapekahm kill. Wayne State responded with a 3-0 run to go up 11-8 with a Ballenger kill. The Golden Eagles pulled back within 12-11 after a Ballenger attack error. This time the Wildcats responded by taking 5-of-6 points to go ahead 18-12 with a Stephens kill. Wayne State used the late momentum to catapult themselves to a 25-16 set win and 3-0 match victory.

Minnesota Crookston returns to action Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. versus No. 17 Augustana.