Women's Volleyball | 11/5/2025 10:13:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle volleyball is back on the road for their longest road trip of the NSIC season, one that will span two weekends and four matches against two ranked opponents and two more that are still fighting for a conference tournament berth. The road trip wraps-up this weekend on the road at nationally-ranked Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State. Minnesota Crookston will meet a ranked opponent in three of their final four matches.

·   MALEK MAGIC. In the three set loss to the Vikings, one where the Vikings played well but ultimately lost, Emma Malek was really good in that match. Malek finished with eight kills on 14 total attacks, while having just two errors and also had two digs and two assists, leaning into her setting background. Malek's attacking percentage of .429 was the second highest of her junior season with more than 13 attacks in a match.

·   NO WAY AROUND IT. Madison Carsten is having an unbelievable season offensively for the Golden Eagles. It's one of the better seasons in recent Golden Eagle memory. Carsten is currently sitting with 315 kills on the season and is on pace for the most by a Golden Eagle since 2017, when Kassi Green finished with 357 that season. Carsten has double-digit kills in all but six matches this season and has two separate runs of seven or more matches this season with more than 10 kills in a match. In the win-loss column, it's been a tough year for the Golden Eagles, but Carsten has been a nice silver lining.

·   LONE SENIOR. As the lone senior for the maroon and gold, Dana Melby has seen and done a lot during her time as a Golden Eagle. Melby has split time this season at the setter position with freshman Ellery Ehresmann, but when she has played, she has put up quality numbers. Melby finished with 15 assists and nine digs in the loss to Augustana, which was the bookend of three straight matches with nine digs. Melby will play in her final four matches starting this weekend.

·  TWO MORE AT HOME. It seems crazy to think about, but Minnesota Crookston will close out their season with just two weekends left in conference play; two on the road and one at home to close out the regular season. It's been a tough conference season, but the Golden Eagles will look to close out the year strong.

• LAST CHANCE ON THE ROAD. As we enter the second week in November, Minnesota Crookston's season is coming to a close. The Golden Eagles will wrap-up their road portion of the schedule this weekend with two more quality opponents in perennial power Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State. It's the last chance on the road for the Golden Eagles to pick up a win or two.

·   QUALITY OPPONENTS. The four match stretch to close out the season for the Golden Eagles is not easy. The Golden Eagles will play three opponents that are ranked or are receiving votes this year and all four will be in the NSIC tournament this year.

• LET'S GO TO LEXI. It was on a very small sample size, but sophomore Lexi Scharold had a very nice match last Friday night against Augustana. The sophomore from Kentucky finished with five kills on seven total attacks with just one attacking error and also finished with three blocks against the Vikings. Scharold has had plenty of brilliant moments this season and Friday was another brilliant moment.

·   DIG OUT THE CATS. Lauren Schnettler's best match perhaps came last Saturday against one of the best teams in the entire nation. Schnettler's playing time has increased and she has taken over the main libero role and has run with it. The redshirt freshman finished with 15 digs in the loss to the Wildcats, which is a career high.

Series Quick Look vs the opponents
CSP is 34-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles
Winona State is 30-3 against the Golden Eagles

How to Follow

Minnesota Crookston @ No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul
Friday, Nov. 7
6 P.M.
St. Paul, Minn. / Gangelhoff Center
Live Stats -- https://cspbears.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/cspbears/

Minnesota Crookston @ Winona State
Saturday, Nov. 8
2 P.M.
Winona, Minn. / McCown Gymnasium
Live Stats -- https://winonastatewarriors.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL. Another year, another dominant season for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears are 19-4 on the season and 15-1 in the Northern Sun, with a dominant 3-0 win over Wayne State College earlier this year. CSP has lost just 15 matches at home in the last decade.

HOF CREDENTIALS. CSP is led by Brady Starkey who is in his 23rd season and has nine National Championships. Starkey is a three-time AVCA National Coach of the Year and has won the NSIC 14 times in his 23 seasons. There are a lot of numbers that make the case for Starkey to be one of the best ever. To make that case even more rock solid. Starkey has made the NCAA Tournament every single year but one he has coached and that will continue this season.

DOMINANCE. Ever since their five set loss to Southwest Minnesota State on October 10, the Golden Bears have been all sorts of dominant. CSP has won nine matches in a row, with eight of those being sweeps and the other being a four set win over St. Cloud State on Tuesday night. CSP is playing its best volleyball in the month of November.

WINONA STATE. The Warriors have been a pretty Jekyll and Hyde team this season. They've been really good and at times, they have struggled. The Warriors have an NSIC stretch this season where they have lost five in a row and now they have won three out of four matches. Winona State will look for a strong finish to the season to keep their season alive.

LOOK TO TWO SETTERS. It seems like the Golden Eagles have played a number of opponents this season that can roll out two quality setters. That will continue this weekend against the Warriors. WSU has Ashlyn Steding and Jaci Winchell, both of which have combined for more than 700 assists, led by Steding and her 465.

CONTROLLING THE SERIES. Up until last season's match with the Golden Eagles, which went four sets, the Warriors pretty much controlled the series. WSU won seven straight matches and 23 straight sets dating back to 2016. WSU will look to continue that dominance over the Golden Eagles this Saturday in Winona.