CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team flipped the script from Friday's match, as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the University of Mary 3-2 Saturday, September 23 at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles lost 3-2 to the Marauders last season in Crookston, and had fallen 3-2 to Minot State University after leading 2-0 in Friday's match.

Minnesota Crookston improved to 3-9 (1-3 NSIC), as they picked up their first NSIC win of 2023. UMary dropped to 4-8 (0-4 NSIC) with Saturday's loss.

Top Players

Minnesota Crookston had three players with 10 or more kills. Maya Jones (Fr., RS, New Braunfels, Texas) paced the squad with 18 kills and completed a double-double with 23 digs. Madison Carsten (Fr., OH, Wadena, Minn.) tallied a double-double of 17 kills and 23 digs. Audrey Cariveau (So., OH, Kevil, Ky.) bounced back after Friday to tally 16 kills.

Dana Melby set a career-high with 55 assists Saturday for an average of 11.0 assists per set. Melby's 55 assists for U of M Crookston is the best for the squad since Sierra Trost notched 60 on October 8, 2016. 

Defensively, Kailee Waasdorp (Fr., DS/Lib., West Fargo, N.D.) tallied 38 digs to lead Minnesota Crookston defensively. The mark is the best for the Golden Eagles since Katie Lienemann notched 39 digs October 12, 2019 against Minot State University. Waasdorp averaged 7.6 digs per set.

On the block, Minnesota Crookston was paced by Mara Weisensel (Sr., MH, New Ulm, Minn.) with two solo blocks and two block assists.

Melby led U of M Crookston from the service line with four aces.

Set One 

UMary got out to an early 9-4 lead in the first set after a Chloe Lieser service ace. The Golden Eagles closed the deficit to 10-8 with a Waasdorp service ace. The two teams would be tied 12-12 after a Nehkyah Ellis error. The Marauders took over the match from there as they rattled off 7-of-8 points to take the 19-13 lead. UMary won the set 25-18. UMary hit .239 in the first set, compared to .109 for the Golden Eagles. 

Set Two 

The Marauders rode the momentum of set one to a set two victory. They took a 9-5 lead on an Ally Gruber kill. U of M Crookston pulled within 11-9 with a block from Cariveau and Weisensel. However, UMary five-straight points culminated with a Cariveau attack error. The Golden Eagles responded and knotted the match up 19-19 on a Maddie Cooper attack error and they tied it again 23-23 with a Jones kill. However, UMary won the final two points of the match to take the set 25-23. The Golden Eagles hit slightly better than the Marauders in set two, .176 compared to .173

Set Three

The Golden Eagles had a great third set, as they had a rare errorless set. U of M Crookston notched 15 kills and hit .395. Minnesota Crookston rattled off nine-straight points to take the lead 12-6 on a Maddie Cooper attack error. The Golden Eagles showed control in the set by going ahead 19-10 with a forceful kill from Jones. Minnesota Crookston won the set 25-14 to force a fourth.

Set Four

Minnesota Crookston hit .179 in set four, while the Marauders hit .000. U of M Crookston got out to a 6-1 lead on a Jones kill. UMary countered to tie the set 7-7 with a Reyna Isenbart kill. Minnesota Crookston pushed the lead to 17-11 with an Ellis attack error. UMary pulled within 17-15, but the Golden Eagles were able to fight off the charge to win the set 25-20 to force a fifth set.

Set Five

The Golden Eagles controlled the fifth set early, as they went ahead 8-3 with a Jones kill. UMary would get the deficit down to 13-8, but Cariveau picked up a kill to win the set and the match.

Team Stats

Minnesota Crookston finished the match with a .216 hitting percentage,with 63 kills, and 21 errors. UMary hit .128, with 51 kills, and 26 errors. 

Up Next

U of M Crookston hosts University of Sioux Falls Saturday, September 30 at 2 p.m., at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium.