Women's Volleyball | 9/25/2024 1:23:00 PM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle volleyball will have their first conference road trip of the season this weekend, as they head to Minnesota State and No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul. The Golden Eagles will look to get back to their winning ways this weekend, but it won't be easy, as the Mavericks and Golden Bears are a combined 14-4 on the season.

·   FLY HIGH COACH. It was announced last Wednesday morning that Bemidji State volleyball head coach Kevin Ulmer passed away at the age of 41 after a courageous three year battle with cancer. We send all of our thoughts and prayers with Kevin's family, his wife and three daughters, friends and the entire BSU family. There will be a moment of silence prior to our match with St. Cloud State on Saturday to honor the great person, father and husband that Kevin was.

• STRONG MATCH AGAINST A STRONG OPPONENT. St. Cloud State looked every bit the part of a National Championship contender. The Golden Eagles won't be the only team in NSIC play they sweep this weekend. A standout in the match for the Golden Eagles was freshman Lexi Scharold. The freshman finished with eight kills on 15 total attacks, good for a .467 attacking percentage, second-highest in her career. Scharold also collected a block in the match. Scharold has three matches this season hitting over .400. The Golden Eagles might have a potential star in the Kentucky native.

·  WAAS THE WIZARD. Kailee Waasdorp has been unbelievable this season. In fact, the Golden Eagles have been fantastic in the back row all season long and Waasdorp has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Golden Eagles. The sophomore leads the Golden Eagles in digs and digs per set and is top-five in the NSIC in those categories. As a team, the Golden Eagles rank 93rd in digs and 30th in digs per set nationally and Waasdorp is a huge reason why.

·   SPREAD THE WEALTH.  The best teams in the nation and the conference have different attackers that they can go to and get them a point. So far, that has been true for the Golden Eagles. Setter Baily Teveldal has done an outstanding job of spreading the ball around. The Golden Eagles have three attackers with more than 80 kills: Maya Jones (85), Carizma Muth (82) and Madison Carsten (80). The middle hitters have been really good as well, as Emma Malek and Lexi Scharold have combined for over 100 kills on the season and over 30 blocks.

·    MAYA! Maya Jones has had another outstanding start to her season, this time in her second season. The New Braunfels, Texas native leads the team in kills and has two seperate matches this season with 17 kills and five matches where she has an attacking percentage of over .200, including a career best .552 earlier this season against Eastern New Mexico. Jones has a massive swing and the Golden Eagles will look to continue to get the best from Jones as they navigate the ultra-tough NSIC play.

·   BEAT THE BROKEN DRUM. It may sound like a broken record and we continue to beat the broken drum, but the Golden Eagles have been phenomenal at the service line and in serve recieve this year. The Golden Eagles are 10th in the NSIC in service aces and aces per set and have 18 more aces than their opponents this season. The Golden Eagles have two matches this season with 11 aces and they have out served their opponents in all but two matches this season. The Golden Eagles have a service ace in 26 straight matches, dating back to last season.

• RUN THE GAUNTLET. When you play in the Northern Sun, it's inevitable that you will play ranked teams, perhaps every weekend. That's the case this weekend for the Golden Eagles, who will play a one loss team in Minnesota State this Friday and then nine-time National Champion, Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday. The Golden Bears are No. 10 in the nation and will be the second ranked opponent for the Golden Eagles this season.

·   HANDS UP AT THE NET. The Golden Eagles were pretty solid at the net on Saturday against SCSU. It may not have shown up in the blocking numbers, but the Golden Eagles got their hands on a lot of swings by the Huskies. The Golden Eagles finished with five blocks in the loss, but they made it easier for their back row by getting their block and touching the swing at the net. The Golden Eagles have been solid at that all season long and they will look to continue that all season long.


Team Information
2024 Record: 3-6


How to Follow

Minnesota Crookston @ Minnesota State
Friday, Sept. 27
6 P.M.
Mankato, Minn. / Taylor Center
Live Stats -- https://msumavericks.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/


Minnesota Crookston @ No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul
Saturday, Sept. 28
5 P.M.
St. Paul, Minn. / Gangelhoff Center
Live Stats -- https://cspbears.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/cspbears/


#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

MINNESOTA STATE. The Mavericks, the first opponent this weekend for the Golden Eagles, are playing outstanding volleyball through their first nine matches in 2024. The Mavericks are 8-1 on the season, with their only loss a four setter to St. Cloud State. Minnesota State is on the outside looking in at the top-25, but they are receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll.

RICHARDS IS RIGHT. Senior Toryn Richards has been outstanding this season. The Waterville, Minn., native leads the Mavericks in kills with 96 kills on more than 300 attacks, while also having an attacking percentage of over .150. Richards has four matches with over 10 kills, including 17 in back-to-back matches earlier this year. Richards has played a ton of volleyball in a Mavericks jersey.

TOUGH TO SCORE IF THE BALL DOESN'T HIT THE FLOOR. Much like a season ago, MSU is fantastic yet again defensively. MSU leads the conference in blocks per set at more than two per set and they hold their opponents to hit just .113 as a team, which is lowest in the NSIC and 12th best in the nation. Emily Kern and Kiya Durant are big pieces to that, as they have more than a block per set this season.

PAIR OF OPTIONS.The Mavericks will rely on a pair of setters to help feed the ball to their attackers. Jadyn Lester and Brooke Bolwerk have almost the same amount of assists. Bolwerk has 169, while Lester has 146. The duo has had just one game apiece this season where they didn't have more than 10 assists and that is a scary proposition for opponents, having to focus on two setters.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL. The Golden Bears are the pinnacle program in Division II. CSP has nine National Championships, with the first dating back to 2007 and the last one coming ten years later in 2017. When fans read a national poll, it's a given that CSP will be in the top-25 and a good chance they'll be in the top-10. The Golden Bears come into this weekend ranked ninth in the AVCA poll and will undoubtedly be pushing for their 10th National Championship this season.

TOUGH ONE ON TUESDAY. Concordia-St. Paul went into Halenbeck Hall on the campus of St. Cloud State and was swept by the Huskies. That sentence is something that isn't said very often. In the last three years, dating back to 2022, CSP has been swept just four times, including on Tuesday against the Huskies. Three of those sweeps have been at the hands of Wayne State College. The Golden Bears will look to rebound this weekend for their homecoming matches.

PICK YOUR POISON. We talk about the Golden Eagles being balanced, which they are, but their balance might not outweigh what the Golden Bears have. CSP has six players with more than 80 kills, including senior Sophia Anderson, who leads her team with 102 kills on the year. Mehlayna Straub is next with 93 kills, while Ellie Sieling and Makenna Nold are next with 88 apiece. The Golden Bears have built their program on an outstanding attack and that has continued this season.

BEST IN THE LAND? Teagan Starkey makes that case for one of the best setters in the entire nation. Starkey, the senior, has been one of the best ever since she put on a Golden Bear uniform. The Lakeville, Minn., native has 483 assists on the season and over 12 assists per set, both of which rank her fourth in the nation and first in the Northern Sun. Starkey is the difference maker for the Golden Bears.