Golden Eagle Quick Notes

• Home sweet home. After spending three weekends in a row on the road, the Golden Eagles are finally back and will host Minot State and the University of Mary for two matches this weekend for the first time in 2022. The Golden Eagles will have their annual 'Gold Out' game as well this Friday when they host the Beavers. The first 250 fans will receive shirts courtesy of Minnesota Crookston athletics.

 

• Natalie Koke continued her outstanding play this weekend. In fact, she put up absurd numbers in Friday night's loss to the Dragons of MSUM. The fifth-year senior finished with 38 assists, which was just six behind her season of 44 she had earlier this season. She also finished with a career-high 20 digs as well. Oh, she also had four kills and hit .250. With that double-double on Friday, Koke now has three on the season, which is also a career-high. The ascension in play for the Wisconsin native continues and her young team will continue to look for her outstanding play this weekend in two winnable games.

 

• One player the Golden Eagles have gone to a lot this season has been Audrey Cariveau. Cariveau had her first back-to-back matches with 10 or more kills this season and finished with a career-high of 14 kills on 40 total swings. The Golden Eagles seemingly went to her every chance they could. Cariveau followed that up with 10 kills on 38 swings against Northern State, who is traditionally an NSIC power. Cariveau leads the maroon and gold in kills, points per set and kills per set. It's been a good start to her career for the Kevil, Kent., native.

 

• For the first time since 2016, which also came at Northern State, the Golden Eagles won a set against the Wolves. In 2022, the Golden Eagles probably left salivating for more, falling 26-24 in the first set. A big part of the success for the maroon and gold was at the service line. The Golden Eagles finished with eight service aces in the match and maybe more importantly, just one service error. Serving is an important stat and the Golden Eagles will look to continue that success throughout the season.

 

• Another player who might have had her best weekend of the season was junior Charlee Krieg. The Cavalier, N.D., native finished with a season-high 14 kills on Saturday against NSU, including back-to-back huge kills late in set one, which tied it at 24. The 14-kill output was after Krieg had 11 against MSUM. The Golden Eagles might have found something by putting Krieg on the outside, because the junior hit .243 in that spot last Saturday.

 

• Mara Weisensel and Maria Jose Bustos Garcia have formed a solid duo in the middle. Bustos Garcia leads the Golden Eagles with 19 blocks on the season, while the junior Weisensel is second with 14 blocks. Bustos Garcia had a match earlier this year where she finished with five solo blocks against Central Oklahoma, while Weisensel had six blocking assists against Illinois-Springfield this season. Being strong at the net has been a big focus of head coach Nick Meseck and so far, they have been solid in that part of the game.

 

• Speaking of service aces, Bailey Schaefer currently ranks 19th in the NSIC with her .34 aces per set and her 12 aces total. The sophomore has five matches this season where she finished with two aces, including in both games this past weekend.

 

• The Golden Eagles will have their annual 'Gold Out' game this Friday against the Beavers. The Golden Eagles will be wearing their gold jerseys and gold shirts during warmups. The first 250 fans will receive the shirts courtesy of Golden Eagle athletics.

How to Follow
Minot State @ Minnesota Crookston
Friday, September 16
6 PM
Lysaker Gymnasium / Crookston, Minn.
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/

UMary @ Minnesota Crookston
Sat. September 17
2 PM
Lysaker Gymnasium / Crookston, Minn.
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/


Minnesota Crookston
Interim Head Coach: Nick Meseck (1st Season)
Record at Minnesota Crookston: 1-9

Minot State University
Head Coach: Alex Lehocky (1st Season)
Record at Minot State: 0-9

University of Mary
Head Coach: Abby Pollart (2nd Season)
Record at UMary: 7-32

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY. The Beavers are winless on the season, but they have played arguably one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Through their first nine matches, Minot State has played five opponents that are either ranked nationally or are receiving votes in the nation. Minot State has played No. 2 Washburn, No. 10 Nebraska-Kearney and opened up NSIC play with a pair of top-15 schools in Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. It has been a tough road for the Beavers and they will look for their first wins of 2022 this weekend as they head east on Highway-2.

WHEN IN DOUBT, CALL ALEXANDRA . Earlville, Ill., native Alexandra Koontz leads the Beavers offensively. The sophomore has 69 points scored on the season and leads her team in both kills and kills per set. Although she has just one match with double-digit kills, Koontz has been the go-to for Minot State this season.

NEWCOMER IN THE BACK. Viktoria Sedova has been a nice addition in the back for Minot State. The freshman from Slovakia has four games this season with more than 10 digs, including a career-high 12 against Midwestern State earlier this year. Sedova has a bright future as a Beaver and she has played well in recent matches for her squad.

TEA PLEASE. Tea Boeckel joins Sedova as a really good player in the back row. Boeckel is second on the Beavers in digs and is in a tie for the team lead of seven aces with two other Beavers. Boeckel is only a sophomore, so the future of Minot State in the back row is in really good hands for years to come.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY. The Marauders have an identical record to the Golden Eagles and are 0-2 in the NSIC as well. UMary lost a pair to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth last weekend, both coming in fairly quick fashion in three sets. The Marauders will look to flip the script with past meetings with the Golden Eagles. The Marauders have lost three out of the last four matches, but did win last season's matchup in Bismarck. It should be a fun, competitive matchup in the NSIC this Saturday.

CALL NEHKYAH'S NUMBER. A 'do-it-all' type player pretty much describes senior Nehkyah Ellis to a tee. The Central Point, Ore., native leads the Marauders in kills, kills per set and service aces, as well as being second on her team in digs. Ellis has three double-doubles on the season and had a stretch of three straight matches where she finished with 20 or more digs, including 25 against New Mexico Highlands. The senior never leaves the floor because she is simply too valuable to the blue and orange.

MADDIE THE MARAUDER. Fargo, N.D., native Maddie Cooper has been another solid attacker this season for UMary. The sophomore has just one match with 10 kills on the season, but has four matches with seven or more digs on the season. Cooper is second on her team in hitting percentage as well.

FORCING ERRORS. One thing that stands out about the Marauders and the thing they do well is they force teams to make mistakes. Offensively as a team, UMary has 186 attacking errors on the season, but they have forced their opponents to make 199 errors as a team. To put that in perspective, the Golden Eagles have made 220 errors on the season and have forced their opponents to make just 153. Something has to give this Saturday at Gary Senske Court inside Lysaker Gymnasium.