#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle volleyball opens up their season this weekend in Marquette, Mich., for the second straight season. The Golden Eagles will have nine newcomers this season, including seven freshmen who will be playing in their first match in the maroon and gold when the Golden Eagles serve it up against Northern Michigan this Thursday. Nick Meseck is in his second season at the helm of Minnesota Crookston and will look to improve upon their five wins last season. Interestingly enough, all but one win for the Golden Eagles last season was of the five-set variety.

·   NEXT STEP. Audrey Cariveau was every bit as advertised last season. Cariveau entered last season as one of the only Kentucky natives ever to suit up for the Golden Eagles and she provided a memorable freshman season. The now sophomore hardly ever left the floor for the Golden Eagles, playing all six positions and finishing with 22 service aces and was fourth with 202 digs on the season. Cariveau was the main offensive weapon for the Golden Eagles, finishing with 276 total kills on over 1,000 total attacks. Cariveau will look to continue to build off of her outstanding freshman year this season.

• HISTORIC PERFORMANCES. Mara Weisensel will be one of the only upperclassmen this season that will try and guide the young Golden Eagles. The senior from New Ulm, Minn., will look to be a little more consistent this season. When Mara is on, she has had some outstanding matches. Weisensel was second on the team with 220 kills last season and had a stretch of four-straight matches with double-digit kills, closing out that stretch with a 20-kill performance on 47 total attacks in a five-set loss to the University of Mary. Down the stretch, Weisensel was efficient, hitting .556 against Bemidji State and closing out the season with a .462 performance against MSU Moorhead, both of which were wins for the Golden Eagles.

·  SWISS ARMY KNIFE. Bailey Schaefer is another Golden Eagle who has the versatility to play all over the court. This season, she might play more in the back row, but she also has the ability to play in the front row like she has done for the majority of her previous two seasons. A season ago, Schaefer was just two kills shy away from 200, finishing with 198 on the season on 717 total attacks. In the back row, Schaefer had more than 200 digs as well, finishing second behind Layne Whaley in that category. A player like Schaefer hasn't been on campus in a long time for the Golden Eagles and she will look to continue her 'do-it-all' type performance this season.

·   IS THAT THE RIGHT LAYNE?  For the Golden Eagles, it absolutely is the right Layne, as in Layne Whaley. Ever since she stepped on campus in 2021, the Ashland, Neb., native has been a mainstay in the back for the Golden Eagles. In her career, the junior has 549 digs, including a career-high 349 last season with almost four digs per set. Whaley had a match last season with 26 digs in a win against MSU Moorhead to wrap-up the season last year. The back row will go a long way in determining how far the Golden Eagles go this season and Whaley will be a huge part of that.

·    LESS STRESS PLEASE. Undoubtedly, the Golden Eagles learned something very valuable last season: Winning the close matches. Minnesota Crookston won five matches last year, none of which were a clean sweep. The Golden Eagles beat Illinois-Springfield for their first win of the season, which was in four sets. Weeks later, the Golden Eagles also beat Bemidji State on the road in four sets. That was the last of the Golden Eagle wins to be in anything less than five sets. The Golden Eagles beat Minot State, MSU Moorhead and Bemidji State in five sets last season and played in a whopping six matches that went the distance; The most since 2015, when the maroon and gold played in seven matches that went the distance, winning three.

·   END WITH A DUB. Although the Golden Eagles didn't make the NSIC Tournament last season, the Golden Eagles did something they hadn't done since 2005: Win their final game of the regular season. In 2005, the SID was eight and most of the roster was less than three years old. In fact, some on this year's roster might not have been born. Needless to say, it has been a long time. In 2005, the Golden Eagles won their finale, defeating Bemidji State in three sets and then falling to Southwest Minnesota State in the NSIC Tournament, the penultimate time the Golden Eagles made the Postseason. Last year, the Golden Eagles won a thrilling five-setter over MSU Moorhead to end the season on a high note and head into 2023 with momentum. Golden Eagle fans are hoping this season can stretch into the postseason and that starts this weekend in Marquette.

• THROWN INTO THE FIRE. In the NSIC, there is hardly a learning period for young players, especially freshmen. The Golden Eagle freshman, all seven of them, will undoubtedly go through some bumps and bruises, but are also very talented and should help the Golden Eagles this season. There are a lot of spots up for grabs on the court this season and Golden Eagle fans should expect an infusion of young talent this season playing a bunch of matches and sets this season.

·   THE MAIN MAN. Nick Meseck will head into his first full season as the Head Coach of the Golden Eagles. A season ago, he entered the season as the interim and was later named Head Coach in October of 2022. He won five matches in his first season at the helm and with some continuity and a solid recruiting class, expectations are that the Golden Eagles will win more matches than that this season in the best conference in all of Division II volleyball.


Series Quick Look (Northern Michigan)

NMU leads the all-time series 10-0
NMU won last season's matchup, 3-0, in Marquette


Series Quick Look (LSSU)
LSSU leads 5-4
LSSU has won the last three matches


Series Quick Look (Northwood)
Northwood won the only match between these two programs in 2018

Series Quick Look (Michigan Tech)
MTU leads the series, 5-1
The Golden Eagles lone win came in 2004


How to Follow
Live Stats - https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

Watch Live (Thursday and Saturday Matches) - https://www.flovolleyball.tv/signup?redirect=%2Flive%2F63344


#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

NORTHERN MICHIGAN. For the second straight season, the Wildcats and Golden Eagles will open up the regular season in Marquette. NMU has had the Golden Eagles number, having never lost to the Golden Eagles. The Wildcats had a really good season in 2022, finishing with 23 wins, their most since 2017, but fell to Quincy University in the first round, who was then upset by Missouri-St. Louis.

WELCOME BACK, JACQ. There were a lot of players who made major contributions to the Wildcats best season since 2017, but Jacqueline Smith really stood out. Smith's 537 kills, which ranked 2nd in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Smith also ended the season with an impressive 325 digs, showcasing her ability to make a difference on both offense and defense.

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE. Lake Superior State struggled a season ago, finishing 5-25, but did beat the Golden Eagles in three sets for their first win last season. The Lakers hold the all-time series lead on the Golden Eagles 5-4 and have won the last three matches in the series. This will be the fifth time in five seasons that these two teams have met.

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR, EMILY IS THERE. Emily Kalinowski will be returning to the Lakers following a historic 2022 season. Kalinowksi put up 993 assists, sixth all time in Lakers single-season history, while also adding on 251 digs. Kalinowski will be a centerpiece to what the Lakers hope will be a bounceback season.

NORTHWOOD. The Timberwolves are coming off of a 2022 season where they went 16-16, with a 10-8 conference record. Northwood was fourth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's North Division and qualified for the conference tournament where they were eliminated by Hillside, who would go on to win the tournament.

RENEE ROCKS. Renee Birnes was incredible in her freshman year, her 1,060 assists ranked third in the conference and her 35 aces were tied for 12th in the conference. Birnes is looking to carry the momentum of her stellar season into year two in an effort to help the Timberwolves get back into the conference tournament in 2023.

MICHIGAN TECH. The Huskies are coming off of another strong season, going 20-10, 11-7 in conference, in 2022. They made the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament where they defeated Wayne State College in 3 Sets before losing to the eventual champions, Ferris State University, in the second round.

ATTACK OF THE MEG. Meg Raabe had an incredible freshman year for the Huskies and was a key contributor to her team's success. Her 280 kills in 2022 was top 20 in the conference and her 249 digs were top 30 in the conference. Raabe is hoping that she can repeat her stellar start going into year two.