CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team opens up Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play this week. The Golden Eagles will commence the week Thurs., Sept. 6 as they head to St. Cloud State University for a 6 p.m. rendezvous with the Huskies. Minnesota Crookston will then return home for their first home match of 2018 as they face No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. Sat., Sept. 8.

Minnesota Crookston at St. Cloud State
Thurs., Sept. 6 - 6 p.m.
Live Stats - https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/wvball
Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scsu/

Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota Crookston
Sat., Sept. 8 - 4 p.m.
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/

Minnesota Crookston 
Projected Starters
So. OH 16 Deaira Gresham (5-10, Maplewood, Minn.)
3.04 K/Set, 1.96 D/Set
R-Fr. RS 15 Lauren Wallace
1.00 K/Set, 0.54 B/Set
Sr. MH 5 Callie Schapekahm (6-0, Eagan, Minn.)
1.39 K/Set, 0.45 B/Set
R-Jr. MH 8 Kaitlin Sikkink (5-10, St. Charles, Minn.)
1.67 K/Set, 0.67 B/Set
So. S 20 Sydney Kruisselbrink (5-9, Rochester, Minn.)
7.68 A/Set, 1.84 D/Set
Jr. DS 2 Lauren Ulibarri (5-5, Flagstaff, Ariz.)
2.90 D/Set
R-Jr. Lib. 19 Ali Schueler (5-7, Howards Grove, Wis.)
3.45 D/Set

Previewing the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston comes into the opening week of their NSIC slate with a 2-6 mark. The Golden Eagles are looking to find some consistency as they look to continue to improve heading into the third week of the season. 

Minnesota Crookston has a young squad with a number of players in new spots. Deaira Gresham (So., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) has led the way for the Golden Eagles with 3.04 kills per set. In addition, Sabrina Leuer (R-Jr., OH, Hamel, Minn.) comes into the week hitting .140 with 1.79 kills per set. Kaitlin Sikkink (R-Jr., MH, St. Charles, Minn.) has been potent from the middle of the attack, averaging 1.67 kills and hitting .227 on the season.

At setter, Sydney Kruisselbrink (So., S, Rochester, Minn.) has moved into the starting role after seeing limited time as a freshman. Kruisselbrink is tallying 7.68 assists per set. She has helped Minnesota Crookston to a .114 hitting percentage and 9.8 kills per set.

Defensively, the Golden Eagles are tallying 16.1 digs per set. Ali Schueler (R-Jr., Lib., Howards Grove, Wis.) has paced Minnesota Crookston with 3.45 digs per set, while junior college transfer Lauren Ulibarri (Jr., DS, Flagstaff, Ariz.) is notching 2.90 digs per set. Sophomore Katie Lienemann (So., DS, Rosemount, Minn.) has also been a crucial cog in the back row with 2.10 digs per set.

The Minnesota Crookston block comes into the week averaging 1.45 blocks per set. It has been a balanced block, paced by Sikkink's 0.67 blocks per set. Lauren Wallace has also been crucial on the block, with 0.54 blocks per set.

On the serve, the Golden Eagles are averaging 0.81 service aces per set with 25 service aces on the season. Lienemann has been the strongest on the serve for Minnesota Crookston with eight service aces.

Previewing the Huskies
St. Cloud State comes into Thursday with a 4-2 mark on the season. The Huskies competed last weekend at the Wildcat Open in Marquette, Mich. Minnesota Crookston and Minnesota Duluth also competed in the same tournament. St. Cloud State's only loss on the weekend came 3-1 to No. 23 Northern Michigan University.

The Huskies are tallying 13.4 kills per set and hitting .251 for the season. Offensively, St. Cloud State has been paced by Linsey Rachel, who is averaging 3.57 kills per set. She is hitting .324 on the season for the Huskies. Abby Templin is also off to a strong start for the Huskies with 2.75 kills per set and a .236 hitting percentage.

At setter, St. Cloud State has been paced by Maddy Torve's 9.48 assists per set. The Golden Eagles will actually be seeing two setters from the same family this weekend with Maddy and Emily Torve from UMD.

Defensively, the Huskies are averaging 16.0 digs per set. Clara Krenz has guided St. Cloud State with 4.90 digs per set, while Rachel is notching 3.29 digs per set. The block for the Huskies is notching 1.57 blocks per set. St. Cloud State has looked to Marah Mulso for 0.95 blocks per set.

Previewing the Bulldogs
Minnesota Duluth comes into the week with a 6-2 mark on the season. They are currently ranked No. 6 nationally. The Bulldogs lost to Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan last week in Marquette, Mich.

UMD is led by outside hitter Makenzie Morgen, an All-NSIC Second Team pick in 2017. Morgen is averaging 3.29 kills per set. In addition, Sarah Kelly comes in tallying 2.96 kills per set from the right side. Kelly was an AVCA First Team All-American in 2017.

At setter, Emily Torve is notching 11.33 assists per set, while helping the Bulldogs to 12.9 kills per set and a .216 hitting percentage.

Defensively, Minnesota Duluth is averaging 14.1 digs per set paced by Keena Seiffert's 3.56 digs per set. Sydney Lanoue comes in averaging 2.68 digs per set to add to UMD's defensive effort. On the block, the Bulldogs are paced by Abby Thor's 1.19 blocks per set, while Lexy Langenfeld is averaging 1.12 blocks per set.