Women's Volleyball | 10/31/2024 1:51:00 PM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle volleyball is on a roll. The Golden Eagles have wonfour of their last six matches and have won each of those three matches in four sets. This week sees three home matches for the Golden Eagles, with a rare Wednesday night match on tap for the Golden Eagles, as they welcome in Bemidji State. The Golden Eagles will then welcome in MSU Moorhead on Friday and nationally-ranked Northern State on Saturday. 

·   IS THAT MJ? It's pretty fitting that Maya Jones' initials are 'MJ', because she sure finished her swings like the greatest basketball player to ever live finished at the rim. Okay, that might be a stretch to compare Maya to Michael Jordan, but the New Braunfels, Texas native has been fantastic as of late. Jones added 25 more kills to her team lead this past weekend and had 12.5 kills per match. Jones has nine double-digit kill matches on the season and is averaging 11 kills in her last five matches, dating back to the win at Bemidji State. In the Wednesday win at home against Bemidji State, Jones set a career-high with seven service aces and tied a school record for most aces in a match.

·   DIG US OUT WAAS. Kailee Waasdorp has been racking up the digs ever since she stepped foot on campus last year. The sophomore from West Fargo continued that this weekend. Waasdorp added 51 more digs this weekend and 29 in the win over the University of Mary on Friday. Waasdorp's fantastic weekend continues to move her up the rankings, as she now sits 4th in the Northern Sun in digs per set and seventh in total digs. Her digs per set puts her 32nd in the nation and her 326 digs put her in the top half of the 300 qualified players, nationally.

·   JUST MAGNIFICENT!  Madison Carsten was also fantastic this past weekend, helping the Golden Eagles to the road sweep. Carsten finished the weekend with 31 kills, including 18 kills, a career-high against Minot State. Carsten also averaged 20 digs on the weekend, including 22 in the thrilling win over the University of Mary. The Wadena native now has six double-doubles on the season, giving her 10 career double-doubles in her Golden Eagle career. Carsten added to her fantastic stretch with 19 kills against Bemidji State, a career watermark for the sophomore.

·  FRESHMAN PHENOM. Baily Teveldal helped the Golden Eagles this weekend in a variety of ways. The Baltic, S.D., native was nothing short of fantastic. Teveldal finished the weekend with 101 assists, including 52 in the win over Minot State, just two short of her career best. Teveldal also finished with a pair of double-doubles in the two wins and led the Golden Eagles with seven service aces. Teveldal's 52 assists against the Beavers was one shy of a program record in a match that didn't go five sets; the previous record is Sierra Trost, who set the record with 53 in 2016. In the Golden Eagles win against BSU, Teveldal added 42 more assists, making it three straight matches for the freshman with 40 or more assists. Teveldal is the first Golden Eagle setter to finish with 40 or more assists in three straight matches since Sierra Trost did it in 2015.

• ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND. When a team sweeps in the Northern Sun, the whole team has to be clicking on all cylinders. That was the case this weekend, with outstanding performances from a number of Golden Eagles. We'd be remiss to talk about Emma Malek's performance. The sophomore might have had her best weekend as a Golden Eagle, which uncoincidentally led to a pair of wins for the Golden Eagles. The Plainfield, Ill., native also averaged 12.5 kills on the weekend and finished with five blocks, as well. Malek finished with 14 kills against Minot State, a career-high. Malek now has four double-digit kill matches on the season and continues to get better and better each weekend.

·   ACES! The key to the Golden Eagle win on Wednesday night against BSU was the work the Golden Eagles did at the service line. Led by Jones' eight service aces, the Golden Eagles finished with a season-high 15 service aces, the third time that the Golden Eagles have finished in double-figures with aces. The Golden Eagles currently have 117 service aces and have 20 more service aces than their opponents, which is a fairly large number.

• FIVE SET THRILLER. What a match it was on Wednesday night inside Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles were able to come back and win the match after falling behind in the match after losing the first set. The Golden Eagles also had to come back in both the second and third sets to win those sets, but they did control the fifth set. The Beavers are now winless in six, five-set matches this season, while the Golden Eagles were able to win their first marathon match in three tries this season.

·   WEIRD STRETCH. As is customary in the best Division II volleyball conference, the Golden Eagles have played an extremely challenging schedule up to this point. This weekend wraps-up an interesting stretch for the Golden Eagles, having played six matches in 14 days, closing out with the home weekend on Friday and Saturday. The Golden Eagles have been fantastic in the stretch, having won three matches in a row and four out of six.

Team Information
2024 Record: 7-13

Series Quick Look VS MSUM
The Dragons lead the all-time series, 32-4


Series Quick Look vs Minot State
NSU leads 33-4 and have won the last 22 matches





How to Follow

MSU Moorhead @ Minnesota Crookston
Friday, Nov. 1
5 P.M.
Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats -- https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Listen Live -- https://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KROX



Northern State @ Minnesota Crookston
Saturday, Nov. 2
2 P.M.
Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats -- https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

MSUM. The Dragons will head into Crookston having lost six of their last seven matches, although their last two matches have been losses to Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. MSUM has controlled the series as of late, having lost just three times since 2015. The Dragons defeated the Golden Eagles in straight sets last season.

TOUGH TO STOP. Senior Abby Thompson has been the most consistent Dragon this season. The senior from Chisolm, Minn. is hitting .349 on the year and has 11 matches this season where she has hit over .300. Stopping Thompson is easier said than done, but the Golden Eagles will look to do that tomorrow.

GREAT START. It's been a fantastic start to the career of Brielle Reiss. The freshman has started her career as good as she would have drawn up. The first year Dragon leads the Dragons in kills with 200 and has 12 matches with more than 10 kills on the season.

DIGS FOR KO. Friday's match will feature two outstanding backrow players from both sides. The Dragons feature Kiara Olesch, who leads her team in digs with 285 and has just 18 receiving errors in more than 450 attacks. Getting the ball to find the floor on Friday might be a tough task for both the Golden Eagles and Dragons.

NORTHERN STATE. The Wolves and Golden Eagles will meet for the first and only time this season. The Wolves are ranked in the top-25 nationally at 22 and have consistently had one of the better programs in the NSIC under the direction of Brent Aldridge. NSU has won 22 straight matches against the Golden Eagles.

DEPTH. The Wolves have many different ways they can beat you offensively. NSU features four attackers with 100 or more kills and Victoria Persha, who has 96 kills on the season. NSU is dangerous, as is evident in their attacking numbers.

MEISTER MANIA. Friday will feature two backrow players that are two of the best in the NSIC, as will Saturday. The Golden Eagles feature Kailee Waasdorp, while the Wolves claim Abby Meister. The junior has an argument for the best defensive specialist in the conference, as she is first in digs per set and fourth in total digs. The Sioux Falls native has double-digit digs in all but one match this season.

TOP-10. To be in the top-10 in different categories in this conference, it means you're doing something right. The Wolves can say they're doing something right as they are top-10 in a number of important categories. The Wolves are second in the Northern Sun in digs per set, aces per set and blocks per set and are third in total team blocks. The Wolves are an all-around volleyball team that is looking to do some damage as the postseason rolls around.