Golden Eagle Quick Notes

• The weekend that every senior dreads is finally upon us this weekend: Senior Weekend. The Golden Eagles will honor three seniors this weekend in redshirt seniors Natalie Koke and Maria Jose Bustos Garcia, as well as senior Madison Klimek. Bustos Garcia has been a Golden Eagle since 2020, while Koke has been on campus since 2018. Klimek has played two seasons due to her freshman season being in 2020, which was the COVID year. The Golden Eagles will greatly miss those three seniors in 2023.

 

• Audrey Cariveau continues to be outstanding this season. In her first season as a Golden Eagle, the freshman from Kentucky leads her team with 252 kills and 284 points scored this season. Cariveau loves to play Minot State. This past weekend, Cariveau finished with 14 kills, her most since a 13-kill performance against Minnesota State four weeks earlier. In two matches against Minot State, the first-year Golden Eagle has 31 kills on a whopping 115 total attacks. Cariveau will look to finish the year strong this weekend against two teams Minnesota Crookston has lost to earlier this season.

 

• If the Golden Eagles want to knock off a very good Northern State team, they are going to need another outstanding effort from Charlee Krieg. The junior from Cavalier, N.D., gathered 14 kills on 37 swings and hit .243 in the match, her second best of the season on a minimum of 20 attacks. Northern State swept No. 4 Minnesota Duluth last Friday night, so the Golden Eagles will need a number of players to play well, but if Krieg can replicate her earlier performance in Aberdeen, that is a good start.

 

• In her first extended amount of playing time, Kora Norland was outstanding in the Minot Dome on Saturday. Norland may not have started the match, but she did finish it. The Fosston, Minn., native finished with career-high's in both assists (21) and digs (9). Norland, who has been mostly used to serve in the rotation, might have earned more playing time this weekend and into next season. Pretty good for a player who wasn't even on the roster until early August.

 

• Natalie Koke will play her final matches as a Golden Eagle this weekend. Although she has only been the starting setter for two seasons, it has been a great career for the Caledonia, Wis., native. Koke has seven double-doubles this season, which is by far a career-high, having just three headed into 2022. The redshirt senior has four matches with over 40 assists this season, including 53 against UMary earlier this season, a career best. Koke plays a vital position on the court and has played well this season.

 

• The Golden Eagles will look to snap some losing streaks this weekend. Minnesota Crookston has lost the last five matchups with MSUM dating back to 2017 and have lost the last 21 matches with the Wolves of Northern State dating back to 2008. What might help the Golden Eagles end those streaks is being at home. The last wins for the Golden Eagles over both of those programs came in the friendly confines of Lysaker Gymnasium.

 

• One thing that might come up in the final week of practice is trying to stop Northern State attacker Sally Gaul. The last time these two teams met in Wachs Arena, Gaul was dominant, finishing with 26 kills on 58 total attacks. Taylor Buckley had 14 kills, but besides those two attackers, the next Wolf was Abby Brooks with six. Stopping the senior is easier said than done. The Des Moines, Iowa native is currently sixth in the NSIC with 330 kills and ranks third in kills per set. Stopping Gaul will be paramount to the success of the Golden Eagles this weekend.

Series Quick Look (Northern State)

Overall          45th Meeting
UMC Record 4-40
First Meeting 9/20/1981 (L, 1-2)
Last Meeting 9/10/2022 (L, 1-3)


Series Quick Look (MSUM)


Overall 20th Meeting
UMC Record 3-16
First Meeting 9/15/2009 (L, 0-3)
Last Meeting 9/9/2022 (L, 1-3) 


How to Follow
Northern State @ Minnesota Crookston
Friday, Nov. 4
5 PM
Lysaker Gymnasium / Crookston, Minn.
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/

MSUM @ Minnesota Crookston
Sat., Nov. 5
2 PM
Lysaker Gymnasium / Crookston, Minn.
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: 4-22

Northern State
Head Coach: Brent Aldridge (12th Season)
Record at NSU: 222-98

MSUM
Head Coach: Bob Jones (2nd Season)
Record at MSUM: 12-43

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

NORTHERN STATE. The Wolves are making a push in November. The Wolves, who have been ranked in the AVCA Division II Poll earlier this season have won four out of their previous five games, with their only blemish being last Saturday in four sets to St. Cloud State. In that stretch, NSU also has a win in three sets over No. 5 Minnesota Duluth. Currently, the Wolves are 7th in the NSIC, so this is a big weekend for the NSIC power.

SALLY IS SOARING. We mentioned Sally Gaul earlier and how the Golden Eagles will try everything they can do to stop the senior from Des Moines. The problem is it is WAY easier said than done. Gaul has seven straight matches with more than ten kills, including 25 just last Saturday against St. Cloud State. Gaul will like playing the Golden Eagles on Friday; The senior collected a career-high 26 kills earlier this season against the Golden Eagles.

BUCKLE(Y) UP. If stopping Gaul isn't tough enough for opponents, they have to deal with fellow senior Taylor Buckley. Buckley has been really good and if she has been a huge reason as to why the Wolves have gotten some huge wins this season. She was dominant the last time these two programs met, hitting .524 on 21 total attacks. In her last eight matches, the Colorado Springs native has eclipsed 10 kills in all of those matches, including a pair of 17 kill matches against UMary and MSUM.

BIG WEEKEND FOR THE WOLVES. Currently, NSU sits in 7th place in the NSIC and has some massive wins this season, including last Friday against Minnesota Duluth. The Wolves have to feel good about where they are sitting, but would love a sweep of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. Both the Golden Eagles and Beavers would love to play the role of spoiler of Northern State, who might be one of the hottest and most dangerous teams in the NSIC.

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD. The Dragons sit a spot ahead of the Golden Eagles in the NSIC with four conference wins. The Dragons will look for the season sweep and sixth-straight win over the maroon and gold in the series. At one point this season, MSUM lost 11 straight matches, before winning two in a row, but have now lost three straight matches. Something will have to give on Saturday.

ATTACKING BALANCE. The last time these two teams met, MSUM only hit .208 as a team, but they held the Golden Eagles to a .127 attacking percentage. The Dragons had a whopping four attackers with double-digit kills, led by Bridget Witzmann, who finished with 16 kills. The Dragons will look for the same balanced attack this Saturday at Gary Senske Court.

WIN WITH WITZMANN. When the Dragons are good, chances are that the aforementioned Witzmann will be a big reason why. The junior from Isanti, Minn., is the straw that stirs the drink for MSUM. Witzmann leads her team in kills, kills per set and points per set, among other statistical categories. Witzmann has 13 matches with 10 or more kills, including 24 on more than 60 attacks against Minnesota State. It's no secret that the Dragons will go to the junior a ton on Saturday.

NO WORRIES IN THE BACK. Freshman Macie Wieman has been outstanding in the back for MSUM this season. The Sparta, Wis., native leads her team in digs with 337 and almost four digs per set. Wieman had 19 digs the last time these two teams met and she will look to have another big match in the 2022 finale on Saturday.