#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle volleyball will have Homecoming this weekend on the campus of Minnesota Crookston. All of the Golden Eagle sports will be at home this weekend, including soccer, men's hockey and volleyball. The Golden Eagles will welcome in a pair of teams that are a combined 29-8 this season. Winona State and nationally ranked Southwest Minnesota State will come into Crookston looking to spoil a pair of Homecoming matches.

·   FRESHMAN LEADING THE WAY. Madison Carsten might be one of the more consistent players for the Golden Eagles this season. Carsten was a player that the coaching staff was really excited about heading into 2023, but she has exceeded expectations and has been outstanding. Carsten is on pace to be the third freshman in five years to lead the Golden Eagles in kills, joining Porsha Porath in 2019 and Audrey Cariveau last year. Carsten has six matches with 10 or more kills this season and she has an unbelievable bright future for the maroon and gold.

• MORE FROM MALEK. Last Thursday against Bemidji State, Emma Malek was really good and might have played her best match of her young career. The freshman and lone Golden Eagle from Illinois finished with seven kills, tying a career-high when she finished with seven kills against UMary. Malek hit .375 and also added a dig as well. Malek continues to get better as the season goes on and the Golden Eagles will continue to look for more of that this season.

·  TWO IN 63. The Golden Eagles have a bunch of youth on their roster and the freshman and sophomores have been getting a majority of the rotations this season, something that will hopefully help the Golden Eagles down the road. There are a number of Golden Eagles that have played in all 18 matches, but only two have played in all 63 possible sets: freshman Kailee Waasdorp and redshirt freshman setter Dana Melby, who was playing basketball at this time last year. Those two have been consistent and have helped the Golden Eagles in a number of things this season.

·   IDENTICAL AT THE SERVICE LINE.  The service line for the Golden Eagles and their opponents have produced some eerily similar numbers. Minnesota Crookston has 108 service errors this season, as do their opponents. The Golden Eagles have 1.33 service aces per set, while their opponents have about 1.68 service aces per set. A match can be won or lost at the service line and the Golden Eagles and their opponents have proved that this year.

·    2.53. Speaking of freshmen and Carsten, the Golden Eagles have continuously gone to her and Maya Jones to try and get a point. So far, it has been a bet that has paid off more often than not. Both Jones and Carsten have 2.53 points per set, which leads the team, while Jones and Carsten both lead the way in kills per set. There have been some bumps and bruises throughout the way, but the Golden Eagles have to feel good about the fact that they have Jones and Carsten leading the way in the future.

·   DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE. Dana Melby has come into the program and has done an outstanding job as the main setter this season. Melby came into this season as the second, maybe even third setter, but she has started since the opening match in Michigan and has played well. The redshirt freshman from Gonvick, Minn., has double digit assists in every match and has six double-doubles on the season, which is obviously a career-high. Melby also has a service ace in 11 matches and a stretch where she had six matches in a row with at least one service ace. It has been an outstanding first season for the Golden Eagles.

• TON OF ATTACKS. The Golden Eagles have a ton of attacks offensively. In fact, they have two galore: 2,222. That number is more than 150 attacks than their opponent. The maroon and gold have three players with more than 350 attacks, led by Carsten and Audrey Cariveau, who each have more than 500 attacks.

·   HOMECOMING. Homecoming is undoubtedly one of the best weeks of the year on every campus in America. Some schools have their homecoming surrounded by one specific sport, but this weekend on the campus of Minnesota Crookston, it will be a ton of sports that will have the spotlight. Golden Eagle soccer will kick off the festivities on Friday, followed by volleyball against Winona State and finished with hockey against Minnesota. On Saturday, it will be volleyball and hockey taking center stage and soccer will close out the festivities they started on Sunday. It should be a really fun weekend in Northern Minnesota this weekend.


Series Quick Look (Winona State)

• Winona State leads 28-3
• The Warriors have won the last 12 matches
• Minnesota Crookston's last win was in 2011 at home (3-0)

Series Quick Look (SMSU)

• SMSU leads the all-time series 32-1
• SMSU has won the last 28 matches
• Minnesota Crookston's last win was in 2003

Winona State @ Minnesota Crookston

Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium

Oct. 20

6 P.M.

Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media;category=batting

 

Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/

Southwest Minnesota State @ Minnesota Crookston

Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium

Oct. 21

2 P.M.

Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media;category=batting

 

Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

WINONA STATE. The Warriors have had a really nice season and a big part of it was because of their 7-0 start. The Warriors come into Crookston 14-5 overall and 6-4 in the NSIC and have won three out of their last four matches. WSU has won their last five matches in Crookston and will look to spoil Homecoming this weekend.

FEEL THE RATH. Gianna Vollrath has had an outstanding sophomore season for Winona State. The Falls Creek, Wis., native is second on her team in kills and has eight matches this season with double-digit kills, including a season-high 19 against Wisconsin-Parkside. Vollrath is hitting .348 on the season, which is top-10 in the NSIC and top-60 nationally.

SOPHOMORE STUD. Jaci Winchell is turning herself into one of the best setters in the NSIC and maybe even in the entire nation. Another Wisconsin native, Winchell has more than 35 assists in 15 matches and had a stretch of six straight matches where she had 40 or more assists. Winchell is fourth in the NSIC with 729 total assists and ranks 29th nationally in that same category. By the time she is done at Winona State, she could be one of the best setters in the nation, if she isn't already.

THE PAULSON PULSE. We would be remiss to not talk about senior Sydney Paulson. The senior rightside is having an outstanding year for the 14 win Warrior squad. Paulson has 236 total kills on the season, which is top-five in the NSIC and has more than 10 kills in 13 of the Warriors 19 matches, including 44 in the Warriors first two matches of the season, both wins. The Warriors have a number of outstanding attackers, but Paulson is the straw that stirs the drink for WSU.

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE. When the word consistency comes up in the dictionary, there is a good chance that you might see the Mustangs logo right next to it. From 2004-2018, the Mustangs made the NCAA Tournament every year and went to the National Championship in 2014. SMSU hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but that short streak surely looks like it will end this season.

HOMETOWN HERO. Marshall native Leah Jones has been outstanding this season for her hometown Mustangs. Jones leads the Mustangs in a number of offensive categories including kills, kills per set, total points and total attacks. In her last five matches, Jones has a whopping 67 total kills and double-digit kills in all of those matches. What a year it has been for the freshman.

TOLK HERO. McKenzie Tolk might be one of the best back row players in the NSIC and her numbers back that up. Tolk has 308 digs on the season, which is the fourth most in the NSIC and her 4.74 digs per set puts her in the top-50 nationally. Tolk has more than 10 digs in all but one match this season and has a 25 and 24 dig performance on her resume. She hails from Minneota, Minn., which knows a thing or two about winning. Tolk played on two State Tournament teams and went to the Class A State Championship as a senior in high school.

ON YOUR HEELS. Emma VanHeel might not be considered a 'star' for SMSU, but man, she does a lot of things well. She is fourth on the team in kills, fourth in kills per set and fifth in total attacks. VanHeel is also great at the service line with 23 service aces on the season.