Quick Serve
 

• It's finally conference season for the Golden Eagles. That part is new to Minnesota Crookston Volleyball this season. One thing that isn't new to this young Golden Eagle squad is this: being on the road. The maroon and gold will be back on the road this weekend for the third straight weekend and will be already travelling to their third and fourth states, with the trip to South Dakota on the docket. The Golden Eagles will look to get off to a fast start in the NSIC, one of the best conferences in all of Division II.

 

• Mara Weisensel continued her outstanding play on the the season this weekend. In the Golden Eagles lone win on the weekend over Illinois-Springfield, Weisensel finished with 10 kills on 23 total attacks, good for a .391 hitting percentage, which was a season and career-high on more than 10 attacks. Weisensel was one of three attackers with more than 10 kills in the win. The .391 attacking percentage against the Prairie Stars was the highest by a Golden Eagle since Porsha Porath of September of 2019, where she hit .395 in a five-set loss to Northern Michigan.

 

• This weekend, Minnesota Crookston will head south 60 miles looking to do something it hasn't done since 2014: start the NSIC season off with a win. The last time the Golden Eagles started the season 1-0 in the Northern Sun was when they defeated Highway-2 rival, Bemidji State, to open up the conference season eight years ago. Granted, the Golden Eagles have opened up with the likes of Concordia-St. Paul, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth since that season and all three are perennial powers nationally. It seems like a good time to break the eight-game losing streak to open up NSIC play.

 

• Audrey Cariveau has given the Golden Eagles a really solid weapon to go to if they are in need of a point. The maroon and gold went to the freshman from Kevil, Kent., a ton this weekend; 127 times to be exact and she even collected her first double-double of her career in the win against Illinois-Springfield last Saturday. If Cariveau can continue to ascend in her first season, the Golden Eagles should be in very solid shape.

 

• Back row play is very important in the game of volleyball and the Golden Eagles have had solid play in the back row all season, especially from sophomore Layne Whaley. The Nebraskan leads her team in digs and digs per set and has had five straight matches with double-digit kills, including a season-high 24 in the four set win over Illinois-Springfield. Whaley has had a great start to the season and she will be important as she and her team will match-up with some of the best attackers in the entire nation when they enter NSIC play this weekend.

 

• Last season, the Dragons swept Minnesota Crookston in impressive fashion, including winning the second set, 25-11. One of the key differences in that match was the fact that the Dragons hit almost 100 points better than the Golden Eagles did. Attacking percentage is always an important stat to look at and if the Golden Eagles can win that category this weekend inside Nemzek Hall, they have to really like their chances to win the match and start NSIC play 1-0.

 

• Another weekend, another solid Natalie Koke performance. Ho-hum. At this point, that is nothing new. Koke finished with 20 or more assists in every match this past weekend, including 44 in the win over Illinois-Springfield. The redshirt senior has had 20 or more assists in all but two matches this season and has two double-doubles already through eight games. The Golden Eagles seem to go better when Koke is playing well and so far, she has played extremely well.

How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston at MSUM
Friday, September 9
6 PM
Nemzek Fieldhouse / Moorhead, Minn.
Live Stats - https://www.msumdragons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/msumdragons/

Minnesota Crookston @ Northern State
Sat. September 10
2 PM
Wachs Arena / Aberdeen, S.D.
Live Stats - https://nsuwolves.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/nsuwolves/


Minnesota Crookston
Interim Head Coach: Nick Meseck (1st Season)
Record at Minnesota Crookston: 1-7

Minnesota State University Moorhead
Head Coach: Bob Jones (2nd Season)
Record at MSUM: 8-28

Northern State University
Head Coach Brent Aldridge (12th Season)
Record at NSU: 211-91

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD. The Dragons head into Northern Sun play two matches below the .500 mark at 3-5. The Dragons started out the season 2-2, but went 1-3 a weekend ago, including getting swept by a pair of NSIC schools in Northern State and Augustana. MSUM has won the last four meetings between the programs. The last win for the Golden Eagles came back in 2017.

BRIDGET FROM CAMBRIDGE. Bridget Witzmann has been solid this season for the red and black. The junior from Cambridge-Isanti, Minn., has been fairly dominant for the Dragons, leading her team in points per sets, kills and total attacks. Witzmann has had just two matches this season with less than 10 kills and has had a 19 and a pair of 18-kill matches this season. Witzmann hit .355 in a win over Chadron State earlier this season.

DOUBLE T. Tori Thompson has been another really good asset to the Dragons this season. The junior from Lakeville, Minn., is a middle blocker for MSUM, but has accounted for 78 points on the season and has just 19 total errors in 143 total attacks, good for a .287 attacking percentage, which leads her team. Thompson has three matches this season where she has hit over .400, including a whopping .563 attacking percentage just last weekend in a sweep over Truman State. Thompson will be key again this weekend in the opening weekend of NSIC play.

BAKKE THE BLOCKER. Aside from Thompson, the Dragons have another pretty good middle blocker: Elise Bakke from Fargo. The senior who is playing for her (sort of) hometown team has accounted for 26 total blocks on the season, one behind the aforementioned Thompson for the team lead. She finished with five total blocks against Augustana and started out the season where she had three-straight matches with four blocks. Thompson and Bakke account for two really strong forces at the net and will make sure that every team in the NSIC accounts for them at the net.

NORTHERN STATE. The Wolves come into this weekend with a 5-3 record. NSU opened up the season 0-2, won the next five and then were swept in their previous match against Augustana, who's one of the hottest teams in the nation. NSU owns a 20-match winning streak against the Golden Eagles, with their last loss coming all the way back in 2004.

RIGHT GUY AT THE TOP. Brent Aldridge is a fixture at Northern State and in the NSIC. Aldridge is in his 12th season at the helm of the Wolves and has moved the Wolves into national relevancy. The three-time NSIC Coach of the Year has won over 210 matches and has led his squad to a pair of first place finishes in the NSIC and numerous NCAA appearances. NSU has found an outstanding coach and hopes to keep him around for the foreseeable future.

BY GAULY. The Wolves are a very balanced team this season when they are attacking. In fact, they don't have an attacker with 100 kills or more. The closest Wolf to that mark is Des Moines, Iowa native Sally Gaul. The fifth-year senior has 91 kills on the season and had a stretch of five matches where she finished in double-figures. Gaul has 229 total attacks, almost 60 more than the next Wolves attacker. Gaul has played the Golden Eagles three times in her career and has 23 kills against the maroon and gold.

OUTHIT THE OPPONENTS. The Wolves do a lot of stuff really well, but one thing that stands out to the eye is attacking percentage. They allow their opponents to hit just over .200, but they hit .274 as a team, which is outstanding. The Wolves have been outhit by their opponents just three times this season and that has been a key part of the 5-3 start for NSU. If they can continue to be strong in an important part of the game, they should have success in the NSIC.