WAYNE, Neb. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program fell 3-0 (25-7, 25-10, 25-14) to Wayne State College Sat., Oct. 6 at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb.

The Golden Eagles fall to 3-16 (1-10 NSIC) on the season. Wayne State improved to 15-5 (7-4 NSIC) on the year.

The Golden Eagles held it close early on in sets two and three, but fell short in the 3-0 loss. Minnesota Crookston looked to Lauren Wallace (R-Fr., RS, Bloomington, Minn.) and Hannah Stark (Fr., OH, Esko, Minn.) on the game. Wallace led the Golden Eagles with four kills and hit .273 for the match, while Stark came off the bench to hit .222 with three kills. In addition, Katie Lienemann (So., DS, Rosemount, Minn.) was strong on the defensive end with 11 digs.

Key Players
Minnesota Crookston
Lauren Wallace, 4 kills, .273 hitting pct.
Hannah Stark, 3 kills, .222 hitting pct.
Sydney Kruisselbrink, 15 assists
Katie Lienemann, 11 digs
Lauren Ulibarri, 7 digs

Wayne State
Alyssa Ballenger, 13 kills, .414 hitting pct.
Tarrin Beller, 12 kills, .750 hitting pct.
Katie Stephens, 6 kills
Megan Gebhardt, 33 assists
Haley Kauth, 13 digs

Golden Eagles finished the match hitting .012 with 17 kills and 16 errors. Minnesota Crookston averaged 13.0 digs per set and finished with two service aces and a block. The Wildcats hit .355 for the match with 40 kills and seven errors.

Set One
Wayne State raced out to an early 11-3 advantage in the first set paced by three kills from Tarrin Beller. The Wildcats did not look back as they took the first frame 25-7.

Set Two
The Golden Eagles looked to rebound and took the first two points guided by a kill from Wallace. Minnesota Crookston moved into a 5-3 advantage after a Stark kill. Wayne State responded by taking the next five points to go ahead 8-5 after an Alyssa Ballenger kill. Minnesota Crookston was able to keep it to within 12-8 after a Katie Stephens attack error, but the Wildcats would close out the set by taking 13 of the final 15 points to win 25-10.

Set Three
Wayne State opened up the third set with a 4-0 run propelled by a pair of Maddie Duffy service aces. The Golden Eagles countered with a 4-0 run of their own to knot it up 4-4 on a Kaitlin Sikkink (R-Jr., MH, St. Charles, Minn.) kill. Wayne State took an 8-6 lead with a Ballenger kill, but Minnesota Crookston was able to pull within 8-7 on a Deaira Gresham (So., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) kill. The Wildcats responded with a 9-1 run to move into the 17-8 advantage. The Golden Eagles would cut the deficit to 22-14 on a Callie Schapekahm (Sr., MH, Eagan, Minn.) kill. However, Wayne State took the final three points to claim a 25-14 set win and a 3-0 victory for the match.

Minnesota Crookston returns to action Tues., Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. versus Bemidji State University.