Women's Volleyball | 9/3/2024 10:36:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle volleyball will open up the 2024 season with some new faces and some upperclassmen who have had significant time on the floor as Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles will head West for both of their non-conference tournaments, starting this weekend at the Steel City Showcase in Pueblo, Colo. The Golden Eagles will open on Thursday night against Cal State East Bay and will then play Eastern New Mexico for the first of two matches between the two programs. The Golden Eagles have high expectations this season after returning a number of players from last year's squad.

·   AYE-AYE, CAPTAIN. For the first time in a long time, the Golden Eagles will follow the direction of three set captains. Bailey Schaefer, one of the longest tenured Golden Eagles and a pair of sophomores, Kailee Waasdorp and Madison Carsten will be the three captains for the 2024 season. Schaefer played all around the floor last year, while Waasdorp and Carsten started every single match as freshmen in 2023. The trio will look to lead Minnesota Crookston to new heights this season.

• GIVE MAYA A SWING. Having a foundation is the most important thing to build first. You need to start somewhere in order to build something special. The Golden Eagles think they have that foundation for years to come. One of the main building blocks is Maya Jones. The Texan had a special, special year as a freshman and will look to continue that in her sophomore campaign. Jones started in over 90 percent of the teams matches a year ago and led the Golden Eagles in points, points per set, kills and kills per set. Jones hit .213 as a freshman last year, becoming the first Golden Eagle freshman since 2014 to hit over .200 on the season. Jones developed nicely last season and will look to continue that this year.

·  IRON WOMAN. There were only a handful of players in the NSIC that played every single one of their teams sets a year ago and Kailee Waasdorp was one of them. Waasdorp played in every single set last year (91) for the Golden Eagles and finished the season top-10 in the NSIC in digs and digs per set. Her durability, leadership and backrow presence will be looked upon this year for the maroon and gold.

·   DIFFERENT VIEW.  It doesn't happen all that often, but sometimes, a program will rely on a former player right out of college to hang up the shoes and jersey and pick up a clipboard and a whistle. That is the case with new Assistant Coach Mara Wiirre. The former middle blocker played four seasons for the Golden Eagles and the last two for her new boss, Nick Meseck. Weisensel will be on the bench for the first time this weekend in the Centennial State.

·    MONEY LIKE MADI. We touched on freshmen that made an impact last season. One sophomore heading into this season that the Golden Eagles will rely upon is Madison Carsten. Carsten, one of the local products on the roster, had a fantastic first year wearing the Golden Eagle jersey and she will look for that same success this season. Carsten will be a captain for the first time this year and will look for an even better year this season. Carsten started every match last year and finished with 201 kills on the year and had six matches with more than ten kills, including a career-high 17 against the University of Mary. Defensively, the Wadena native was also fantastic, finishing with more than 10 digs in 10 different matches. Carsten will look for a great start this weekend in Colorado.

·   EMMA'S WORLD. Heading into the year, the Golden Eagles seem to have more depth at the setter position, which is a good thing for both the Golden Eagles and sophomore Emma Malek. Malek, the native of Plainfield, Ill., played the final two weekends of 2023 at the setter position, which was unfamiliar. This season, head coach Nick Meseck is hoping that the Golden Eagles can keep Malek at the middle hitter position. Malek had 73 kills a season ago and 19.0 blocks, good for third on the Golden Eagles.

• THE SCHAROLD HERALD. Lexi Scharold is a freshman from Alexandria, Kent., who will look to play a massive role this season for the Golden Eagles. Scharold had a decorated career at Campbell County High School where she was a four-year player and helped her team win the district in 2021 and region runner-ups in 2020 and 2021. Her team broke through and won the region as a senior. Scharold wrapped up her career with over 700 kills and 240 blocks. The freshman will look to continue her prolific prep career in the maroon and gold.

·   CANTER ME INTRIGUED. The Golden Eagles, on paper anyway, should be set at the most important position in volleyball: setter. One of those setters that could make a large impact this season is redshirt freshman Ryan Canter. With a good preseason, the second year Golden Eagle has a chance to make an impact for Nick Meseck and his squad.


Minnesota Crookston vs California State East Bay
Pueblo, Colo. / Massari Arena
Sept. 5
6 P.M.
Live Stats -- https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=541739
Watch Live -- https://rmacnetwork.com/gothunderwolves/

Minnesota Crookston vs Eastern New Mexico
Pueblo, Colo. / Massari Arena
Sept. 6 
8 A.M.
Live Stats -- https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=541740
Watch Live -- https://rmacnetwork.com/gothunderwolves/


Minnesota Crookston @ Colorado State Pueblo
Pueblo, Colo. / Massari Arena
Sept. 5
8:15 P.M.
Live Stats -- https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=537844

Watch Live -- https://rmacnetwork.com/gothunderwolves/

Minnesota Crookston vs Lubbock Christian (Texas)
Pueblo, Colo. / Massari Arena
Sept. 7
1:30 P.M.
Live Stats -- https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=541746
Watch Live -- https://rmacnetwork.com/gothunderwolves/

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

CAL STATE EAST BAY. The Pioneers finished last season one win over the .500 mark at 13-12 and 9-9 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Pioneers did play a whopping seven opponents ranked in the top-25, going 0-7 in those matches. The Golden Eagles and Pioneers will meet for the first time in either program's history. Head Coach Kimberly Lambert, who is in her seventh season in 2024, is the second winningest coach in program history, behind Jim Spagle, who was the head coach for 23 seasons.

YOUNG. The Pioneers and Golden Eagles feature a lot of youth. In the season opener for both teams, there could be some growing pains. The Pioneers are similar to the Golden Eagles last season. CSUEB featured a whopping nine freshmen last season and they will be young again this season. It will be interesting to see which team shows more experience on Thursday.

EASTERN NEW MEXICO. The Greyhounds finished last season with a record of 11-20, including a win over the Golden Eagles in three sets. Two of the three set wins for ENMU over the Golden Eagles went more than the designated 25 points. The Greyhounds won nine non-conference games last season, but went 2-14 in Lone Star Conference Play. This weekend in Pueblo will be the first of two meetings this season between Eastern New Mexico and Minnesota Crookston.

KNOW WHERE THEY STAND. Eastern New Mexico was tabbed to finish in 14th in the LoneStar Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Greyhounds were picked to finish in an identical spot a season ago, as well. The Golden Eagles will play three of their eight non-conference matches against LSC opponents, including a pair of matches against Eastern New Mexico and one against Lubbock Christian, who was picked to finish seventh in the poll.

COLORADO STATE PUEBLO. A season ago, the Thunderwolves weren't great in non-conference play, going 3-10. They were outstanding in conference play, going 10-4 in the RMAC, but lost in five sets in the conference tournament to South Dakota School of Mines. CSU-Pueblo will look for a better start this season in matches outside of their conference and that starts this weekend in their own tournament.

SCOVILLE IS BETTER THAN WHOVILLE. The Thunderwolves lost a lot of productivity from a season ago as two of their three top attackers from a season ago have transferred away to different schools. Kendall Harrington is at Texas A & M-Kingsville and Payton Van Veen is at the University of North Texas. That leaves Sadie Scoville to help pick up the slack. Scoville played and started in every match for the Pack last season and was second in the team in kills and attacks and hit over .250. The junior finished with double-digit kills in 18 matches and finished with a season-high 20 kills on 42 attacks against MSU Denver.

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN. The Chapperals were one of the best teams in the nation in non-conference play, starting 9-2 a season ago. LCU finished 17-9 on the season and 9-7 in conference play. LCU will look for an equally fast start this season.

OUTSIDE STAR. The Chapperals bring a ton of talent back from last year's squad that finished eight games over .500. One of the talented players LCU brings back is senior Kiana Fallaha. The senior from San Antonio was fantastic in 2023, finishing with 334 kills on the season. Fallaha finished the year in the top-10 of the Lone Star Conference in a number of different categories, including kills, total attacks, points per set and kills per set. Fallaha was held to less than 10 kills just times last season, including two of her team's final three matches. It's tough to stop the senior, but the Golden Eagles will look to slow her down in their finale.