Golden Eagle Quick Notes

• Golden Eagle volleyball will head back on the road for the third-straight time for a Thursday match against Nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth and will head home for a match against another ranked opponent in St. Cloud State. The Golden Eagles will look to get back on track, but it won't be easy with two outstanding teams on the docket this weekend.

 

• For a middle blocker, Mara Weisensel is having a sensational year attack-wise. The junior from New Ulm continues to be the Golden Eagles second option and sometimes, even the first option. The third-year Golden Eagle has a career-high 167 kills on the season on just over 400 total attacks. Weisensel is also hitting .265, which would also be a career-high should that number stick. Weisensel is currently 20th in the NSIC with her attacking percentage. For a middle, #11 is having a special season.

 

• The Golden Eagles have had to rely heavily on underclassmen this season. One of the underclassmen that has played an important role has been Layne Whaley. The sophomore from Ashland, Neb., has played a ton of volleyball already in her young career, playing in 46 matches in just two seasons. Whaley has really come into her own in the back row. The Nebraskan is currently 11th in the NSIC in digs per set and 10th in the conference with 258 digs on the season, which has surpassed her career-high of 205 set last season. Whaley has 12 matches with 10 or more digs this season and had a four-week stretch where she had 10 or more digs in 10 consecutive matches.

 

• This Thursday, Minnesota Crookston will look to do something it has never done in the NSIC era: knock off Minnesota Duluth. The Golden Eagles are 0-24 all-time against the Bulldogs dating back to 2001. It won't be any this Thursday by any stretch of the imagination, but now would be a great time for the program's first victory over the school from Duluth.

 

• Although she has had some struggles this season as a freshman playing in the toughest conference in all of Division II, Audrey Cariveau has been special this season. She has over 200 more attacks than the second most Golden Eagle (Bailey Schaefer, 555) and she leads her team in kills and points per set. Caruveau is averaging 2.97 points per set, which would be the most by a Golden Eagle since 2019, when Porsha Porath averaged 3.19 points per set. The bar is set high and the Kevil, Kent., native is ascending and looks to have a special career as a Golden Eagle.

 

• Besides all the underclassmen that have been really good, Natalie Koke is an upperclassman who has been really good this year. Koke has taken almost all of the reps at the setter position and she has had a special final season as a Golden Eagle. Although she is on her second head coach in her career, it hasn't slowed down the Wisconsin native. Koke has 10 or more assists in EVERY match this season and nine matches with over 20, four with over 40, including a 53-assist match, which was a career-high. This past weekend, Koke finished with a combined eight kills as well. Koke has been really good this season, playing an important spot.

 

• Minnesota Crookston has been solid at the service line this season. Koke leads her team with 21 service aces and is one of five Golden Eagles with 10 or more service aces on the season. Although opponents have almost 50 more service aces against the Golden Eagles, Minnesota Crookston has vastly improved at the service line and should surpass their total of 104 service aces from a year ago.

Series Quick Look (Minnesota Duluth)

Overall          25th Meeting
UMC Record 0-24
First Meeting 9/19/2001 (L, 0-3)
Last Meeting 11/2/2021 (L, 0-3)


Series Quick Look (SCSU)


Overall 26th Meeting
UMC Record 8-17
First Meeting 9/8/2001 (L, 1-3)
Last Meeting 10/30/2001 (L, 0-3)


How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ No. 4 Minnesota Duluth
Thursday, Oct. 20
6 PM
Duluth, Minn. / Romano Gymnasium
Live Stats - https://umdbulldogs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/

No. 7 St. Cloud State @ Minnesota Crookston
Sat., Oct. 22
2 PM
Crookston, Minn / Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/


Minnesota Crookston
Head Coach: Nick Meseck (1st Season)
Record at Minnesota Crookston: 3-18

No. 4 Minnesota Duluth
Head Coach: Jim Boos (21st Season)
Record at Minnesota Duluth: 528-108

No. 7 St. Cloud State
Head Coach: Chad Braegelmann (8th Season)
Record at SCSU: 117-81

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

MINNESOTA DULUTH. The Bulldogs are one of the best teams in the nation, as was evident by their six-match winning streak in conference play. UMD has just two losses on the season, both of which have come at the hands of No. 1 Wayne State College in three sets and a thrilling five-set loss just last Saturday to No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul in the state's capital. Minnesota Duluth looks to be one of the teams that will be playing for a National title come December and they will be a stiff test for the Golden Eagles this Thursday.

THE PAGE OF PAULSEN. Sophomore Samantha Paulsen has been very good this season. The native of Chisago Lakes, Minn., is one of three Bulldogs with more than 200 kills on the season and although she might be the third option, stats-wise, she has been arguably the most consistent attacker. Paulsen leads her team with a .331 attacking percentage on 456 total attacks, which is fifth in the NSIC. The Bulldogs first match of the season should've been a good indication of what the season would look like for the sophomore; Paulsen had 19 kills on 32 total attacks in a five-set win over Drury.

STAR IN THE BACK. Kaylyn Madison is a huge part as to why the Bulldogs are so good. The No. 4 team in the nation is more than likely going to be good all-around, but the Bulldogs do have it all. The junior leads her team in digs with 315 and is one of the best at the service line in the conference, sitting in 11th in the NSIC with 26 total service aces. The junior from Eagan is having a stellar season for one of the best teams in the nation.

NO BOOS HERE. The NSIC is filled with legendary head coaches. One of those legendary coaches is Jim Boos. Boos has been at the helm of the Bulldogs since 2002 and has gone through a transition in the NCC where they played the like of North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, etc., on a nightly basis to the NSIC where they have met programs like Wayne State, Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, among others. It has been a remarkable run of consistency for Boos, who has missed the NCAA Tournament just twice in his 20 seasons. It's pretty remarkable what Boos has done in his time at Minnesota Duluth. The only thing missing is a National title, but UMD looks like a team prime to make a run at that illustrious title this season.

ST. CLOUD STATE. In recent years, St. Cloud State has gone from the bottom of the NSIC to one of the best teams in the entire nation. The Huskies won their first ever NSIC regular season and postseason title last year and they are well on their way to a third-straight NCAA berth this season. SCSU comes into Crookston as the No. 7 team in the nation and all four of their losses have come to NSIC teams within the top-ten.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT FOLEY. Opponents are not going to forget about Kenzie Foley. Much like the Bulldogs, SCSU has three attackers with over 200 kills on the season, led by the Sergeant Bluff, Iowa native, who has 287 on the season and is averaging over four kills a set. Besides matches against New Haven where she finished with eight kills and against Barton, where she had just three kills, the junior has double-digit kills in every match this season, including a stretch of 13 straight with more than 10 kills dating back to Sept. 9 against UMary. Foley has had an unbelievable stretch.

ROSS(I) AND PHEBIE. Phebie Rossi is another Husky who is having an unbelievable season. The Rapid City native might not be putting up AS gaudy of numbers as Foley, but the consistency has been there for the senior. Rossi is currently hitting .371 on the season, which ranks fourth in the NSIC and had a match earlier this season where she had 27 kills on 48 total attacks against Southwest Minnesota State. Rossi and Foley form a dynamic offensive duo.

FORCE THE ISSUE. Rossi is a big help as to why SCSU outhits their opponents by over .100 percentage points and that number is why the Huskies have been so tough to beat this season. SCSU is hitting .274 as a team, which is third in the NSIC and have been outhit by their opponents just twice this season, who also coincidentally are above them in team attacking percentage: Concordia-St. Paul and Wayne State College. If a team can hit like the Huskies can and can force errors like the Huskies can, they suddenly become an extremely tough team to beat.