ABERDEEN, S.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team held off a late charge by  the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology to win 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 25-27, 26-24). The victory means a sweep on Friday for the Golden Eagles at the Max & Erma Classic on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 3-3 with the victory. South Dakota Mines falls to 0-6.

The Golden Eagles looked to 21 kills from Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.), who had back-to-back matches with 20 or more kills. Green hit .308 for the match. Green was strong early on, but wasn't as productive in the final two sets. Deaira Gresham (Fr., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) came through down the stretch as she finished with 13 kills and a .400 hitting percentage.
Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Savage, Minn.) led the Minnesota Crookston offense with 43 assists. The Golden Eagles hit .265 on the match with 53 kills and 13 errors.

Defensively, Minnesota Crookston was well-balanced as they had four players in double-figure digs. Maggie Perrel (R-Sr., OH/DS, New Germany, Minn.) led the way at libero with 18 digs. Hagen added 16, while Kassi Green had 14 and Ali Schueler (R-So., DS, Howards Grove, Wis.) had 11 digs. On the block, Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., MH, St. Charles, Minn.) led the way with four block assists and one solo block. Kassi Green and Callie Schapekahm (Jr., MH, Eagan, Minn.) each added three block assists.

South Dakota Mines hit .166 for the match with 53 kills and 27 errors. Emily Newton led the way with 15 kills and a .522 hitting percentage. Anna Breidt chipped in 13 kills, while Mikkella Reese had nine. At setter, Emma Eckel led the way with 39 assists.

Defensively, the Hardrockers looked to 25 digs from Reese. Alye Wagner chipped in 13.

The Hardrockers got out to a 4-1 lead in the first set following a service ace from Mikkella Reese. Minnesota Crookston would bounce back with an 8-2 run as they took a 9-6 lead on a Kassi Green kill. The Golden Eagles pushed their lead out to 14-9 on a Hagen kill. South Dakota Mines would use a 5-1 run to pull within 15-14 on an Emily Newton kill. They would tie it up 15-15 with a Kassi Green attack error. Minnesota Crookston took the lead back 16-15 on a Schapekahm kill. Minnesota Crookston extended their advantage to 20-16 on a Schapekahm service ace. The Golden Eagles would take the first set 25-19 led by seven kills from Kassi Green.

Minnesota Crookston opened up the second set on a 4-0 run after a Kassi Green kill. The Hardrockers countered with a 4-0 run of their own to knot it up 4-4 on a Kassi Green attack error. South Dakota Mines took the 5-4 advantage when Breidt put down a kill for the Hardrockers. South Dakota Mines extended their lead to 9-7 on a Makinze Maiden service ace. The Golden Eagles would bounce back to tie it up 9-9 on a Gresham kill from the left-side pin. She followed that one up with another kill to put the Golden Eagles in the lead 10-9. The Hardrockers would knot the set back up at 16-16 and would then take the lead 17-16 on a bad set by Hagen. Kassi Green would even the score back up at 19-19 with a kill. Minnesota Crookston would ride the momentum to a 25-19.

South Dakota Mines got out to a 6-1 lead in the third set following a kill from Breidt. The Golden Eagles cut the advantage to 7-5 after a block by Kassi Green and Sikkink. The Hardrockers responded and pushed their lead out to 10-5 with an Eckel service ace. Minnesota Crookston cut the lead to 13-12 following a Reese attack error. South Dakota Mines responded with a 3-0 run to go back up 16-12. The U of M Crookston pulled within 20-19 following a Hazard attack error. The Golden Eagles would tie it up 20-20 on a Kelci Green solo block. The Hardrockers took the lead back 21-20 with a Newton kill. Minnesota Crookston knotted the set back up 22-22 with a Kassi Green service ace. The two teams would be tied 25-25 following a Gresham kill. However, South Dakota Mines used back-to-back points to take the third set 27-25 to cut the Minnesota Crookston lead to 2-1.


South Dakota Mines got out to a 5-1 lead following a Breidt kill. The Hardrockers extended their lead to 8-3. Minnesota Crookston cut the advantage to 11-10 following a Reese attack error. The Golden Eagles would knot the score up 11-11 after their early disadvantage, as Hagen got the kill. Minnesota Crookston continued their hot streak as they went up 13-11 on a Darla Drenckhahn attack error. South Dakota Mines tied the set back up at 15-15 on a Breidt kill. The Hardrockers would take the lead back 16-15 as Breidt put down another kill. Minnesota Crookston would find themselves down 22-17 after a Kelci Green attack error. The Golden Eagles would come back and cut the lead to 24-23 on a Breidt attack error. A bad set for South Dakota Mines would knot it up 24-24. Sikkink would then come through with a big kill to make it 25-24 giving the Golden Eagles set and match point. Gresham would then come through in the clutch with the decisive point to make it 26-24 and give the U of M Crookston a 3-1 victory.

Minnesota Crookston returns to action Sat., Sept. 9 with day two at the Max & Erma's Classic. The Golden Eagles will take on Minnesota State University, Mankato at 2:30 p.m. and Northern State University at 7 p.m.