Golden Eagle Quick Notes

• After playing three matches a week ago, which saw the Golden Eagles go 1-2, Minnesota Crookston will head back on the road for one of their longest road trips of the season. The Golden Eagles played a pair of exciting homecoming matches, falling to Minnesota State in five and then playing No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul tough, but ultimately losing in three. The Golden Eagles will look to get back to their winning ways with matches at Winona State and Upper Iowa, who they already pushed to the brink earlier this season in non-conference action.

 

• Mara Weisensel continues to have a strong junior season. On Friday night against the Mavericks, the New Ulm, Minn., native finished with 13 kills on 24 total attacks and had just five errors, good for a .333 attacking percentage. Weisensel followed that up on Saturday with another .333 attacking percentage match. It was the eighth time this season that Mara has hit over .300. Weisensel continues to make the most of her chances this season.

 

• Grace Arndorfer was absolutely sensational on Friday night against MSU. The sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minn., had a career night. The Golden Eagles started out sluggish and lost in the first set and fell behind early in set two, but the sophomore provided a spark. Arndorfer denied the Mavericks time and time again, to the tune of a career-high six blocks. It was a crowd of almost 400 people on Friday and Arndorfer gave them many reasons to cheer.

 

• It was the battle of the setters on Friday night. Brooke Bolwerk of Minnesota State was outstanding, finishing with 44 assists, eight digs and two blocks and was key in the win for the Mavericks. Natalie Koke was also really solid. The redshirt senior from Caledonia, Wis., finished with 41 assists and 11 digs in the match, as well as making big plays when the Golden Eagles needed it most. Her double-double on Friday was the fifth of her season and ninth of her career. When Koke is playing well, it seems like the Golden Eagles play well.

 

• It was a wild and fun match on Friday night against Minnesota State. The match featured many outstanding rallies, big-time blocks, earth shattering swings and timely aces. It could be seen as a sign of things to come for the Golden Eagles. The crowd was rowdy on homecoming and was a huge part as to why the Golden Eagles were able to climb and crawl their way back into the match after a slow start in the first set. Minnesota Crookston will absolutely look to continue that momentum of building a culture into the end of this season and into 2023.

 

• Following the win on Tuesday against Bemidji State and before the weekend matches against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota Crookston announced what was almost a formality. Nick Meseck and Bret Carvieau got the interim tag removed from both of their titles and have been named head coach and assistant coach, respectively. Meseck has already tripled the win total from last season and has more opportunities to rack up more wins this season. Not only is it a sense of relief for both Meseck and Cariveau, it is also a positive step in the right direction for the program.

 

• Audrey Carvieau has done it all this season. Speaking of Meseck and Cariveau, it seems like they have a solid building block by way of the aforementioned Cariveau. The Kevil, Kent., native leads her team with 187 kills and just under three kills per set, as well as 126 digs on the season. Cariveau also has 15 blocks on the season, so her strength at the net has been noticeable as well. If Cariveau continues on this trajectory, the Golden Eagles have a star in the freshman from Kentucky.

Series Quick Look (Winona State)
Overall          31st Meeting
UMC Record 3-27
First Meeting 11/10/2002 (L, 0-3)
Last Meeting 10/8/2021 (L, 0-3)


Series Quick Look (Upper Iowa)
Overall 20th Meeting
UMC Record 5-14
First Meeting 9/21/2007 (L, 1-3)
Last Meeting 8/26/2022 (L, 3-2) 


How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Winona State
Friday, Oct. 14
6 PM
Winona, Minn. / McCown Gymnasium
Live Stats - https://winonastatewarriors.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/winonastatewarriors/

Minnesota Crookston @ Upper Iowa
Sat., Oct. 15
2 PM
Fayette, Iowa / Dorman Gymnasium
Live Stats - https://uiupeacocks.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live - https://www.nsicnetwork.com/uiupeacocks/


Minnesota Crookston
Head Coach: Nick Meseck (1st Season)
Record at Minnesota Crookston: 3-14

Winona State
Head Coach: Joe Getzin (9th Season)
Record at Winona State: 158-69

Upper Iowa
Head Coach: Aaron Nelson (12th Season)
Record at Upper Iowa: 168-144

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

WINONA STATE. Winona State will be back at home this weekend to host the Golden Eagles and the Beavers after dropping two matches on the road at St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, a pair of ranked teams. Winona State is 9-9 on the season and right in the middle of the NSIC, sitting at 5-6. The Warriors have not lost to the Golden Eagles since 2011, so they have to like their chances of getting back on track this weekend.

LESSON FROM LARSON. Madison Larson has been really good this season for the Warriors. Larson leads her team in a number of offensive categories including points per set, kills and kills per set. The senior from Independence, Iowa had a stretch earlier this season where she had double-digit kills in six straight matches and eight in nine matches. When the Warriors need a point, they seem to go to Larson a ton.

SID THE KID. Along with Larson, Sidney Paulson has also been really good for Winona State offensively. The Wisconsin native has 204 kills on the season and has 11 matches with more than 10 kills. Paulson seems to play her best when playing some of the best teams in the nation as well. The junior finished with 17 kills against St. Cloud State just last Saturday and had 15 earlier this year at home against Wayne State College. Paulson and Larson make a dynamic duo that the Warriors can trust to be efficient.

MIKENNA IN THE MIDDLE. Mikenna Joerger is one of the best middle blockers in the conference. The senior from Readlyn, Iowa currently ranks fourth in the NSIC in total blocks with 68.0. Joerger has six matches with five or more blocks this season, including a 10 block performance in the season opener against Seattle Pacific, which was a career-high. It has taken her entire career to get a shot and get playing time, but it seems like Joerger is taking the chance and running away with it, making it a special senior year.

UPPER IOWA. Minnesota Crookston was oh so close to a signature win over the Peacocks earlier this year in non-conference play, but UIU was able to avoid the upset and win in five sets. Since that point, UIU has struggled a bit, coming into this weekend two games over .500 at 10-8, but three games under the watermark at 4-7. The Peacocks are in a battle for one of the final spots in the NSIC Tournament and they will need a good weekend at home to keep pace in the ever-challenging NSIC.
SERVE UP AN ACE. Upper Iowa is one of the best teams in the NSIC at the service line. So far this season, UIU has 108 team service aces, which ranks in the middle of the pack in the NSIC, but they have allowed opponents to have 61 service aces, which ranks second in the conference. When these two programs met in August, the Peacocks doubled up the Golden Eagles at the service line, 8-4. One of the most important parts of the game could play an important role this Saturday.

SLOW DOWN RETTLER. The last time these two teams met, Madelyn Rettler was outstanding. The junior from West Bend, Wis., finished with 15 kills in the match on 40 attacks, good for a .325 hitting percentage, the highest of her 2022 season. Since that match, Rettler has had just three matches with over 10 kills, but seeing the Golden Eagles again this season could lead to a big match for the third-year Peacock.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK. Kaci Beesecker, the junior from Fairbank, Iowa has been unreal in the back for head coach Aaron Nelson. Beesecker has just two matches this season where she hasn't gotten more than 10 digs on the season and has a stretch that she is currently in where she has a 15-match streak with more than 10 digs. Beesecker finished with a season-high 24 digs against the Golden Eagles earlier this year in Marquette, Mich.