The University of Mary Marauders

Maddie Cooper wins this week's North Dakota Petroleum Foundation Female Athlete of the Week award. Cooper has been a presence in the middle all season so far for the UMary Volleyball team, but showed up with big performances on Friday and Saturday, the latter of which helped lead the Marauders to their first win in conference play this season. Friday night, Cooper led the attack with 6 kills while hitting a very efficient 0.500% and had a block in a 3-0 defeat to the Bemidji State University Beavers. The Marauders had a quick turnaround Saturday afternoon and went the distance with the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles and fought for a 3-2 victory. Cooper had a spectacular day both offensively and defensively as the sophomore from Fargo, ND smashed 12 kills while hitting a very impressive 0.313%. Cooper also helped the Marauders dominate the Golden Eagles in blocks as she rejected 12 balls at the net (5 solo blocks, 7 assisted). The Marauders out-blocked the Golden Eagles 17-5. Cooper's 12 kills and 12 blocks against Crookston were career highs and Saturday marked her first career double-double performance as a Marauder.