Crookston, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston Volleyball team wraps-up their home schedule this weekend, starting with a Tuesday match against the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth at Gary Senske Court inside Lysaker Gymnasium.
 
The Golden Eagles will look to halt a 15 match losing streak, but it won't be easy against a Bulldogs squad who has won six out of their seven matches, including two wins over Northern State in four sets and a five-set victory over No. 20 Michigan Tech at home.
 
Quick Serve
 
·       FIVE SET THRILLER. Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State played an outstanding match on Thursday night in Crookston. The Golden Eagles won the first two sets fairly handily over the Beavers, but the Beavers wouldn't go away, coming from behind in the third set to win that set and extend the match. Bemidji State would then trail just once in the fourth and fifth set to earn their second straight conference win, winning the final three sets in thrilling fashion. It was a heartbreaker for the Golden Eagles, who fall to 0-2 in five-set matches this season.
·       HOLY MOLY MARA. On Thursday night against Bemidji State, sophomore Mara Weisensel was unbelievable. The New Ulm, Minn., had a career night against the Beavers, collecting 16 kills on 33 total swings, which were both career marks for number 11. Weisensel hit .424 in the match as well, which was also a career-high. That mark didn't last long however, as she hit a whopping .556 on Saturday against St. Cloud State, after collecting five kills on nine total swings. Weisensel seems to be coming into her own for the maroon and gold 20 matches into her career.
·       TIME FLIES. It seems like just yesterday that the Golden Eagles were on a plane heading out to Pueblo, Colo., for their first matches of the season. Fast forward 20 matches and the Golden Eagles have five matches left in the 2021 season, including the one tomorrow night against UMD. Minnesota Crookston has just three matches remaining in Crookston, including a matchup with nationally-ranked Wayne State College this Saturday. Minnesota Crookston will look to end their season on a high note.
·       DOWN MEMORY LAYNE. Another youngster that is coming into her own as a Golden Eagle is the lone Nebraskan on the roster, Layne Whaley. The freshman from Ashland, Neb., has had an unreal stretch of four matches where she has dug out 58 total balls, including a career-high 20 against UMary in Bismarck. Whaley has eight games this season with 10 or more digs, including half in the last two weekends. Whaley has proved herself as a backstop in the back row for the Golden Eagles.
·       BAILEY IS BALLIN'. Yet another freshman making an impact and coming into her own as a Golden Eagle. Like Whaley and her four-straight games with digs, Bailey Schaefer has done the same, except it is in the kills' category. Schaefer collected a career-high 13 kills in a loss two Fridays ago against Minot State and has followed that up with 11 kills in three matches in a row. Schaefer has also hit above .200 in two straight matches, which is something she hasn't done since the first two matches of the season against Fort Hays State and Chadron State.
 
How to Follow
RV Minnesota Duluth @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 2
Time: 6 P.M.
Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Officials: Tim Stokke and Nick Neibauer Jr.
NSIC Match
Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
 
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Sarah Morgan (5^th Season)
Record at UMC: 16-85
 
 
University of Minnesota Duluth
Head Coach: Jim Boos (20^th Season)
Record at UMD: 507-103
 
 
Opponents Outlook
 
·       ABOUT THE 'DOGS. The Bulldogs have been playing their best volleyball when they have needed to. UMD has won six out of their last seven matches, including two quality wins over Northern State and No. 20 Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs are fighting for not only their NSIC lives, but also their NCAA hopes and have a great chance to make a statement with two matches left with No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State and No. 6 Wayne State in the regular season. We will see if the Bulldogs can continue to play good volleyball down the stretch.
·       ALL ABOUT SUMMER. Although Summer Ballard doesn't lead the Bulldogs in kills, she has had some really big games against some really strong opponents. The senior from Crystal, Minn., had a whopping 15 kills against Wayne State College, nine against both Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State. When the Bulldogs need someone to step up, Ballard has been up to the task.
·       ALL ABOUT BLOCKS FOR GRACE. There haven't been many matches this season where Grace Daak hasn't collected a block. In fact, the Hutchinson, Minn., native has had just two matches this season where she hasn't collected a block, including the last match against Bemidji State. Despite the zero blocks against the Beavers, the sophomore still is second in the conference with blocks per set at 1.19, but leads the conference with a whopping 107 blocks. Getting the ball past Daak at the net is going to be a challenge for the Golden Eagles.
·       A DIG FOR SYD. If opponents can get it past Daak, there is still a decent chance that Sydney Lanoue will dig it out. The Tracy, Minn., native has 425 digs on the season and has had double-digit digs in every match this season, including 35 earlier this season against Minnesota State University, Moorhead. When the Golden Eagles and Bulldogs played earlier this season in Duluth, the senior had 15 digs.