#TIDBITS
Golden Eagle volleyball will finally be back home this weekend for their home opening weekend. Minnesota Crookston will look to get back in the win column this weekend against Minot State and the University of Mary. The Golden Eagles were swept by both Northern State and MSU Moorhead last weekend, but will look to reverse their fortune this weekend against the Beavers and Marauders. It will be the first time playing inside Lysaker Gymnasium for a number of freshmen and it will also be the annual 'Gold Out' game on Friday. The first 250 fans get a gold T-shirt courtesy of Minnesota Crookston athletics.
· DIG THE TRENCH. Kailee Waasdorp continues to impress in the back row for the maroon and gold. The West Fargo native has played in all 34 sets that the Golden Eagles have played and has double-digit digs in all but one match this season for her team. Waasdorp has four matches this season with 19 or more digs, including a career-high 32 digs in the win against Lake Superior State. Waasdorp is currently top-10 in the NSIC in digs per set and digs and ranks in the top-75 nationally in both of those categories, as well.
• ATTACK OF THE C'S. Audrey Cariveau and
Madison Carsten have proven to be the players that the Golden Eagles will look to when they are in search of a point or to stop a run. The freshman Carsten is second on the team with 274 total attacks and has double-digit attacks in every match this season, including a career-high 40 against Eastern New Mexico. Carsten finished with 12 kills on 27 total attacks, good for a .296 attacking percentage. For Cariveau, it is nothing new for her to lead the team in attacks. She did it last season as a freshman and is doing it now as a sophomore. The Golden Eagles have some attackers they can go to when they need a point and the dynamic duo of Carsten and Cariveau are two of them.
· SECOND YEAR IN A ROW? For whatever reason, the Beavers have been a common opponent early on in the season. The Golden Eagles have played Minot State in mid-September two straight years, about to be a third straight year when Minot State comes to town this weekend. This will also be the second straight season opener where the Golden Eagles have played Minot State. The Golden Eagles won a thriller last season in five sets and the Golden Eagles will look to make it two wins in a row for their home opener, maybe a little bit less stressful on their fans in 2023.
· MAYA MAKES HER MARK. Maya Jones was back this weekend after missing four matches in her home state of Texas due to an injury. It didn't take long for the first-year Golden Eagle from New Braunfels, Texas to make her addition back to the lineup noticeable. Jones finished this weekend with 60 total attacks and led her team in kills on both nights, finishing with nine against Northern State and another 11 against MSU Moorhead. Jones also hit a career best .280 against MSU Moorhead, where she was tough to stop. The Golden Eagles will look for some more of that same dominance from their freshman who they are very excited about.
· NEW POSITION FOR BAILEY. Bailey Schaefer is one of the upperclassmen for the Golden Eagles. Schaefer is a junior this season and is trying to guide the youngsters to playing in the best conference in all of Division II. Something new to Bailey this season is her position. The Golden Eagles moved Schaefer to strictly the back row and although it might have taken some time for Schaefer to get comfortable playing just three rotations, it seems like she may be getting into a groove. Schaefer has seen her playing time increase and she has played in every match dating back to the Texas trip, six matches in a row. Schaefer finished with five digs against MSU Moorhead last Saturday.
· MARA VS MINOT. Minnesota Crookston will hope for some more of the same this season from
Mara Weisensel. Last season against the Golden Eagles, Weisensel was outstanding, finishing with 17 kills on 35 total attacks with just five errors. Weisensel also hit over .350 in that match. The Golden Eagles trailed big in the fifth set, but they were able to come back and win the match with the help of Weisensel. The maroon and gold will look for some more of that same success this season when the Beavers come to town.
• A LITTLE DIFFERENT MATCH PLEASE. Speaking of last year, it was a wild and crazy match inside Lysaker Gymnasium for the home opener a season ago. The Golden Eagles won the first set by five, but then fell in sets two and three and were in danger of falling in four sets. In the fourth set, Minot State led by as many as seven points, but the pesky Golden Eagles were able to come back and win the set by two. The exact same thing would happen in set five, with the Golden Eagles also winning by a pair. Minnesota Crookston would like to handle business for their first time playing in front of their Golden Eagle crowd.
· WEAR YOUR GOLD. The Golden Eagles will hold their annual 'Gold Out' match this weekend, which is custom for their home opener. This will be the second straight season that the Golden Eagles will open their home schedule against Minot State. The first 250 fans through the door will receive a gold shirt courtesy of Minnesota Crookston athletics. Come out and cheer loud for what is hopefully a Golden Eagle victory on Friday night.
Series Quick Look (Minot State)
- Minnesota Crookston leads the all-time series 13-5
- The Golden Eagles won in five sets at home last season
- Minot State won in four sets in the Minot Dome last year
Series Quick Look (UMARY)
- The series is tied at 12 wins apiece
- The Marauders have won the last four matches between these two teams
- The Golden Eagles last win came at home in 2019
Minot State @ Minnesota Crookston
Crookston, Minn.
Sept. 22
6 P.M.
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media;category=batting
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Play-By-Play - Hunter Plante
University of Mary @ Minnesota Crookston
Crookston, Minn.
Sept. 23
2 P.M.
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media;category=batting
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Play-By-Play - Hunter Plante
#OPPONENTOUTLOOK
MINOT STATE. The Beavers are 1-9 on the season, with their lone win coming in Lubbock, Texas over Arkansas Tech. The Beavers lone win a season ago was against the Golden Eagles in the Minot Dome. It could be a fun match on Friday night in Crookston.
LOCAL FLAVOR. Maybe not so local to Minot, but definitely local to Crookston and the surrounding areas. The Beavers have a pair of players who are within an hour or less from Crookston. Jenna Pahlen hails from Oklee, Minn., and Bailee Brommenschenkel joined the Beavers this past season after transferring from NDSCS. Brommenschenkel hails from Ada, Minn., and was on some good high school teams as a Cougar at Ada-Borup West. There could be a lot of people on Friday night cheering for both Pahlen and Brommenschenkel.
MAGGIE THE MAGNIFICENT. Maggie Machado does a lot for her Beaver squad. The Brazil native leads her team in a number of categories, including kills, kills per set and points and is second defensively in digs. The junior has four double-doubles on the year, including a 14 kill, 30 dig performance in just the second match of her career. Stopping Machado will be a tall task for the maroon and gold this Friday night.
ON THE BLOCK IN VEGAS. Taylor Wyatt will be one of the Beavers that played in the match in Crookston last season, making her return to Crookston. The Las Vegas, Nev., native was the only Beaver to play in every set last year and she had success against the Golden Eagles. The senior set career-high's two different times last season in kills against the Golden Eagles with 13 and had a career-high eight blocks in their win last year in Minot. Could we see another career day from Wyatt this Friday?
UMARY. The Marauders will come to Crookston falling in three straight matches, including being swept at the hands of top-10 teams in Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. Crookston has not been very kind to the Marauders in recent years, having lost three out of their last four, but were winners a season ago in five sets.
GRUBER! Lake Superior State transfer Ally Gruber has been outstanding this year for the Marauders. Gruber started out at NDSCS in Wahpeton, N.D., then transferred to Lake Superior State and found a home last year in Bismarck. Gruber leads her team with 105 kills on the season, including a career-high against Montana State-Billings. Gruber also has three double-doubles on the year and also leads her team with 2.92 kills per set.
TIGHT MATCHES. Whenever these two teams line up across the net from each other, they are always seemingly close matches. In the last 13 matches between the Golden Eagles and Marauders, only four of them have been sweeps and two have gone the five sets, with the rest going four sets. Expect some more of the same close, tight volleyball on Saturday afternoon.
DYNAMITE IN THE BACK. Kaia Sueker is outstanding for UMary in the back row. The junior from Marshall, Minn., leads her team in digs with 125 and has five matches with more than 10 digs, including 32 against Black Hills State. Last season against the Golden Eagles in Crookston, Sueker finished with 24 digs and was instrumental in the win. The former Cross Country and Track runner at UMary seemingly made the right choice switching to volleyball.
