Quick Serve

• It's a new era for Golden Eagle volleyball. Nick Meseck was named interim head coach on June 8, after Sarah Morgan stepped away from the program after five seasons at the helm of the program. Meseck joined the Golden Eagles last season as an assistant coach. Bret Cariveau will be assisting this year in his first season. Cariveau will also be coaching his daughter, Audrey, who is a freshman for the Golden Eagles this season and hails from Kevil, Kent.

 

• The positive thing for new Head Coach Nick Meseck is the fact that the Golden Eagles have a number of key contributors from last year's squad. Underclassmen like Bailey Schaefer and Layne Whaley are back, as are juniors Mara Weisensel, Madison Klimek and Charlee Krieg, who are in their third year on campus, but are only playing their second full season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Natalie Koke is the fifth-year senior who will be looked upon a ton as the only setter on the roster.

 

• In order to play in one of the toughest conferences in all of Division II, it's smart to load up on tough non-conference opponents. The Golden Eagles are doing that, including this weekend. When the Golden Eagles travel to Marquette, Mich., this weekend, they will play three out of four opponents who finished with double-digit wins, including NSIC foe Upper Iowa, who finished with 20. Next weekend doesn't get any easier for the Golden Eagles, who will see Michigan Tech for the sixth time in program history. The Huskies won 25 matches a season ago and made the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in five sets to Hillsdale in the regional semifinal. The Golden Eagles defeated MTU in four sets in 2004, which was their only victory over the Huskies in program history.

 

• One attacker the Golden Eagles will look upon for more offense is sophomore Bailey Schaefer. The Brandon, Minn., native continued to get better match after match a season ago. The now sophomore was second on the Golden Eagles as a freshman in both kills (172), total attacks (527) and kills per set with 2.42. Schaefer will be looked upon this season to provide an attack for the young Golden Eagles.

 

• One thing the Golden Eagles should continue to be strong in is the back row. The Golden Eagles have the luxury of returning two of their best back row defenders in Layne Whaley and Madison Klimek. The duo combined for 274 total digs a season ago, led by Whaley who finished with 205. Whaley was also strong at the service line, finishing with 21 service aces, which was six behind Natalie Koke for the team lead of 27.

 

• A season ago, opponents had no problem attacking against the Golden Eagles. Opponents hit .290 as a team against Minnesota Crookston in 2021, compared to just a .106 attacking percentage for the Golden Eagles against their opponents. Opponents had an attacking percentage of over .300 13 times a season ago, including three opponents hitting over .400. Wayne State College had 42 kills in 85 attacks and just five errors, good for a .435 attacking percentage, which was the highest of any opponent a season ago against Minnesota Crookston.

 

• Fosston native Kora Norland is in her first season as a Golden Eagle. The redshirt freshman will presumably back-up redshirt senior Natalie Koke this season at the setter position. Norland is familiar with Lysaker Gymnasium. The Fosston, Minn., native helped send her Greyhounds to state in 2019 with a 3-0 win over Ada-Borup West in Lysaker. Her Greyhounds never lost a set in the Section 8A Tournament that season. She will look for the same success in what is now her home gym throughout her entire Golden Eagle career.

How to Follow

Minnesota Crookston @ Northern Michigan
Date: Thursday, Aug. 25
Time: 6 P.M.
Marquette, Mich.
Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live: https://www.flovolleyball.tv/events/7948964-2022-northern-michigan-volleyball-open (Subscription Only)

Minnesota Crookston vs Upper Iowa
Date: Friday, Aug. 26
Time: 2 P.M.
Marquette, Mich.
Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live: https://www.flovolleyball.tv/events/7948964-2022-northern-michigan-volleyball-open (Subscription Only)

Minnesota Crookston vs Lake Superior State
Date: Saturday, Aug. 27
Time: 8 A.M.
Marquette, Mich.
Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live: https://www.flovolleyball.tv/events/7948964-2022-northern-michigan-volleyball-open (Subscription Only)

Minnesota Crookston vs Central Oklahoma
Date: Saturday, Aug. 27
Time: 12 P.M.
Marquette, Mich.
Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live: https://www.flovolleyball.tv/events/7948964-2022-northern-michigan-volleyball-open (Subscription Only)

Minnesota Crookston
Interim Head Coach: Nick Meseck (1st Season)
Record at Minnesota Crookston: 0-0

Northern Michigan
Head Coach: Mike Lozier (5th Season)
Record at NMU: 56-44

Upper Iowa
Head Coach: Aaron Nelson (12th Season)
Record at UIU: 158-136

Lake Superior State
Head Coach: Zac Rambo (1st Season)
Record at LSSU: 0-0

Central Oklahoma
Head Coach: Edgar Miraku (11th Season)
Record at UCO: 219-78

Opponents Outlook
NORTHERN MICHIGAN. The Wildcats are coming off of a 12-win 2021, including a pair of wins over NSIC foes Minnesota State and Bemidji State. NMU is just two years removed from a GLIAC Conference Championship, when they went 15-2 in a shortened season due to COVID. The Wildcats have had the Golden Eagles number since their first match in 2001; NMU is 9-0 all-time against the maroon and gold.

JACQUELINE OF ALL TRADES. Third-year sophomore Jacqueline Smith had an outstanding season for the Wildcats a season ago. The Saint Germain, Wis., native literally never came off the floor, playing all around the floor and playing in all 98 sets. Smith finished last season with six or more matches with over 20 kills, including a pair of matches with 22 kills against Wisconsin-Parkside and Lake Superior State. It'll be a tough task for the Golden Eagles to stop Smith, who also finished with a team-high 44 service aces.

UPPER IOWA. A familiar foe for the Golden Eagles in their second match of the season. Upper Iowa finished last season with a 20-10 record, their third 20-win season since 2017, but they missed out on the NCAA Tournament after falling to Winona State in four sets in the conference tournament. Upper Iowa has moved into contention for one of the powerhouses in the NSIC and will look to reload and get to the NCAA Tournament this season.

IOWANS UP AND DOWN THE ROSTER. Upper Iowa returns a number of key contributors this season that were very valuable a season ago. Maggie Streightiff and Zoe Semelroth are back after being two of the Peacocks' most consistent contributors. Semelroth is one of 10 native Iowans on the Peacocks and that has been a huge part of the resurgence for UIU in recent years.

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE. Lake Superior State has really struggled as a program dating back to 2011-12, when they won eight matches. Since that season, the Lakers have won five or more matches just twice, winning eight matches in 2019. LSSU won just two matches a season ago and none in the spring of 2021. The Lakers, who have a bunch of Michigan natives on their roster, will look to rebound this season.

LIVING ON TAYLOR TIME. The Lakers are in the midst of a rebuild and will struggle at times this year. A year ago, LSSU had four attackers that finished with more than 100 kills, one more than the Golden Eagles. Only one of those attackers return this season for the Lakers and that is redshirt junior Taylor Fleming. The Rogers City, Mich., native returns after racking up 143 kills as a redshirt sophomore and leading her squad with 2.13 kills per set. Fleming didn't even play in the first three matches of the season, but it didn't take her long to make an impact. She notched her first career double-digit kills in a match against Colorado Christian in just her fourth match she played. She had four straight matches where she notched 10 or more kills from that stretch on. With a lot of uncertainty on her squad, Fleming could have an even bigger year in 2022.

CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. Central Oklahoma is coming off of a 19-win season, which saw their season end in the MIAA Quarterfinals to perennial power, Nebraska-Kearney. The Bronchos did have a win over a ranked opponent a season ago and coincidentally, it was Nebraska-Kearney who the Bronchos beat early in the year. The 'Lopes were ranked No. 4 at the time in the National polls. The young Bronchos will look to take another step in the positive direction and it will help that they don't have a single senior on their roster.

SOPHOMORE STUD. Besides having a really cool last name, Jenna Karp is a star for the Bronchos. Karp will help form a special duo this season with junior Courtney Lane. Lane and Karp combined for over 600 points on the season a year ago. Karp was consistent a season ago and had seven double-digit kill matches a season ago, including a career-high of 16 against Nebraska-Kearney. UCO will undoubtedly look to both Lane and Karp for offense this season. Central Oklahoma plays in a conference that is similar to Minnesota Crookston. The MIAA has four teams ranked in the AVCA Division II top-25 poll, while the NSIC has a nation's best five teams ranked in the top-25.