The University of Minnesota Crookston Volleyball team hits Highway-2 this weekend for a pair of matches in North Dakota. The Golden Eagles will take on the Beavers of Minot State University on Friday night and the Marauders of The University of Mary on Saturday afternoon. All three teams enter this weekend winless in the NSIC, so something will have to give in the great state of North Dakota this Friday and Saturday.

• HAPPY TIME IN NORTH DAKOTA. The Golden Eagles have really enjoyed playing in North Dakota since 2006. Minnesota Crookston is 9-6 in the state of North Dakota playing both Minot State and UMary. The Golden Eagles have a five game winning streak in the state as well from 2013 to 2015. Golden Eagle fans are hoping for more of that same good luck in the Peace Garden State.

• CONSISTENTLY SOLID. Redshirt junior Natalie Koke has been the team's main setter this season and she has been solid at a really important position on the volleyball court. A setter is usually someone who touches the ball on every attack and that is no different with the Caledonia, Wis., native. Koke has had three-straight matches with 20 or more assists dating back to the match with Concordia-St. Paul on 10/9. Before the match with the Golden Bears, Koke had a stretch of eight straight matches without getting to 20 assists or more. That came after she started the season with four straight matches with 20 or more assists. Koke and the Golden Eagles hope that she can continue the stretch of 20 or more assists in a match.

• YOU GO BO. Bojana Stekovic sure made the most of her opportunity on Friday night against Minnesota State University, Moorhead. With the Golden Eagles trailing two sets to none in the match against the Dragons, the native Serbian went on a 7-0 run from the service line, including an ace in that stretch. That good run at the service line paid off for Stekovic, who played in all three sets on Saturday against Northern State, which was a career high. Stekovic also collected three digs each in both matches, which tied her previous career high set earlier in the season against Wayne State College.

• ATTACKS PER SET. Redshirt senior Lauren Wallace is looked at to get a point when the Golden Eagles need one. Wallace currently sits 12th in the NSIC with 8.33 attacks per set on the season. The left-handed attacker from Bloomington, Minn., has upped her attacks per set each season she has been in a Golden Eagle uniform. In her redshirt freshman season, she was at 4.65 attacks per set, followed by 5.15 clip in attacks per set. In her redshirt junior season, the Golden Eagles played in only one match. Wallace has been the go-to this season for the Golden Eagles.

• STRONG SHOWING. In Saturday afternoon's match against Northern State, the Golden Eagles had one of their best attacking percentage outputs of the season. The Golden Eagles collected 27 kills in 82 attacks, while committing just 13 errors in the match. The .171 attacking percentage was the teams highest since it hit .190 in the match earlier this season against Minot State. The team's season high this season was in the first match of the season when the Golden Eagles hit .229 as a team against Fort Hays State.

• I'LL TAKE AN ACE PLEASE. A huge part of volleyball comes at the service line. If a team can be good at the line, there is a good chance they will win a lot of matches. The Golden Eagles have struggled in that category this season. As a team, Minnesota Crookston has just 55 service aces on the season, compared to 137 for their opponents. Opponents have had double-digit aces five times this season, which is one less time than opponents in 2019. Minnesota Crookston will look to reverse that trend this weekend against the Beavers and Marauders.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Sarah Morgan (5th Season)
Record at UMC: 16-83

Minot State University Beavers
Head Coach: Dana Cardova-Jacobson (5th Season)
Record at Minot State: 21-85

University of Mary Marauders
Head Coach: Abby Pollart (1st Season)
Record at UMary: 3-17

How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Minot State
Date: Friday, Oct. 22
Time: 7 P.M.
Minot Dome
Officials: Leon Walter and Sara Bowman
NSIC Match
Video: https://nsicnetwork.com/msubeavers/
Live Stats: https://msubeavers.com/coverage

Minnesota Crookston @ University of Mary
Date: Saturday, Oct. 23
Time: 2 P.M.
McDowell Activity Center (MAC)
Officials: Jude Holzer and Dorothy Lick
NSIC Match
Video: https://nsicnetwork.com/goumary/
Live Stats: https://goumary.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary


Opponents Outlook
MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY BEAVERS. 2021 has been a tough season for the Beavers of Minot State. The Beavers are 0-17 on the season and 0-12 in the NSIC. MISU has won just three sets in the season, taking Cameron University to five sets before falling to the Aggies and falling three sets to one to Wheeling University in their fourth match of the season. Minnesota Crookston swept the Beavers earlier this season at the Minot Dome in non-conference play.

DOUBLE K's. Roxy King and Alexandra Koontz were really solid the last time these two teams met. Koontz finished the match with eight kills on 29 total attacks while King finished with eight kills on 27 total attacks. Koontz leads the Beavers with an even 100 kills on the season, while King has 65, which is second for Minot State. Stopping the duo will be a key this Friday night will be a key for the Golden Eagles.

HUNTINGTON BEACH TO MINOT. Beavers setter Sophia Peterson has been good for her squad this season. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native has 235 assists on the season, including a whopping 37 assists in the first match of the season against Cameron University. Peterson collected 23 assists against William Jewell and 18 in her last match against St. Cloud State. Peterson also has 26 kills on 101 total attacks to her name this season as well.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY MARAUDERS. The Marauders are also a team that is looking for their first conference win of the season. UMary is 3-17 on the season with wins over Chadron State, Anderson State (SC) and Minot State, all in non-conference play. The Marauders will look for that elusive first NSIC win.

ON CRUZ CONTROL. Senior Natalie Cruz has been good in her final season in Bismarck. The native of San Juan, Puerto Rico is second on her team with 120 kills, 469 total attacks and kills per set at 1.97. Cruz has five matches with 10 or more kills on the season as well.

RIGHT AT HOME.  Much like Minnesota Crookston's opponent last Friday night, MSUM, the Marauders are a team that will feature two setters. In fact, they didn't need to go very far to find their two setters. Kaia Lill, who has 219 assists on the season, is right in her backyard, being from Bismarck. Kameron Selvig, the native of Jamestown, N.D., leads the team with 329 assists, including a whopping 43 assists in the first match against Chadron State and 35 against Georgia College.