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Last week the Marauders began their four game home-stand with a pair of Northern Sun Games. First up for the U-Mary was third ranked University of Minnesota Duluth. Going into the game, the Marauders knew they would have their hands full. Despite a formidable team effort, the Marauders fell in three games. Morgan Dake lead the Marauders in kills (7) and hitting percentage (.333). Against Saint Cloud, U-Mary dropped the first set, but pulled of a 3-1 win by hitting the best percentage they have all year (.282). Morgan Dake, Paige Smith, Allison Adams and Lauren Boldt each finished the game for the Marauders with 12 or more kills. Also leading the way for U-Mary was Emily Turkowski with 46 assists and Valerie Lesu with 21 digs.

ONE STEP AT A TIME: U-Mary may have hoped for more success so far this season, but they have made vast improvements from last years team. The Marauders already have three conference wins this season, surpassing last seasons total of one. With such a young team, look for U-Mary to continue improving as the season goes on.

This week the Marauders will finish up their weekend with a pair of ranked conference opponents. First up for U-Mary will be #13 Minnesota State on Friday. On Saturday, the Marauders will square off with defending national champions #6 Concordia University.

Minnesota State (12-5, 6-3 NSIC) is off to a strong start this year. The Mavericks are coming off of a split this past weekend. MSU defeated #19 Wayne State College 3-2, but fell to unranked Augustana 3-1. Minnesota State has a trio of senior front row players averaging over 2.5 kills/game, but are anchored by All-Conference OH Chelsea Fogarty. Fogarty is seventh in the NSIC with 3.74 kills/game and is second on the team in digs with 3.1 digs/set. Setting the table for this trio of seniors, is freshman S Ellie Van Der Steeg. Van Der Steeg is third in the conference with 12.11 assists/game. This years seniors are 0-4 in their careers against Minnesota State.

Concordia University (13-3, 7-2 NSIC) is coming off of their fifth straight national championship. The Golden Bears are on a three game winning streak and are ranked sixth in the country. CU is coming off of sweeps over Augustana and Wayne State. 2010 All-American Cassie Haag has been key in Concordia's success the past three years. Haag is averaging 3.35 kills/set this year while hitting .395. Concordia has three offensive players averaging over three assists per game thanks largely impart to 2011 All-American Amanda Konetchy. Konetchy is second in the conference with 13.20 assists per set. With an 0-4 record, this years seniors have also never defeated Concordia in their careers.

Next week U-Mary will be on the road to begin a five game road-trip. Starting the weekend, the Marauders will play in-state rival, Minot State. Earlier in the year, the Marauders defeated the Beavers 3-0 at home. Finishing up the weekend will be second ranked Southwest Minnesota State. The last time these two teams met was in 2011, with the Mustangs defeating the Marauders 3-0.

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