Full Release
Last week the Marauders struggled dropping three games. First up U-Mary fell to in-state rival Minot State University 3-1. The Marauders started slow in each of the sets, which eventually led to their demise. Next up, U-Mary dropped to #1 Southwest Minnesota State. SMSU came out strong and swept the Marauders in three sets. Rounding out the weekend, U-Mary fell to the University of Sioux Falls. The Marauders had a chance in each set against USF, but were unable to finish strong as they fell 3-1.
Taking advantage of OPP-ortunities: This past week
Allison Opp finished with 37 kills including a career-high 18 against Sioux Falls. In Opp's 18 kill performance she hit an impressive .342. Opp is leading the team in kills this season (162) and kills per set (2.31).
Stiff Competition: Week after week the Northern Sun proves to be a volleyball powerhouse. In a seven game stretch prior to the Sioux Falls game, the Marauders faced five ranked teams. Among those ranked teams U-Mary faced, three of them are currently ranked in the top five.
Playing for a cause: On November 1st the Marauders volleyball team will be hosting a cancer awareness game. The focus of the game will be on stomach cancer in honor of Mona Paradine, the mother of former player Julie Paradine. Mona passed away last summer and the Marauders volleyball program would like to do their part to honor her and raise awareness for the cause. In order to raise money, the team has been split into two fundraising groups that will be competing to see who can raise the most money. Prior to the game their will be a presentation made by Julie. The team will be wearing periwinkle, the official color of stomach cancer. All fans are encouraged to wear periwinkle and any donations are greatly appreciated.
This week the Marauders will head to Minnesota for a pair of Northern Sun rematches. First up will be Bemidji State University, followed by the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Bemidji State (3-18, 1-13 NSIC) currently sits in last place in the Northern Sun. BSU has had a rough season thus far and is currently riding a 13 game skid. The Beavers lone conference win on the year came back in September when they defeated Minot State. One of the few bright spots for Bemidji has been the outstanding play of senior OH Bethany Thompson. Thompson is third in the Northern Sun with 3.93 kills per set. Allowing Thompson to be so successful, is the passing of sophomore S Courtney Volkmann. Volkmann is eight in the conference in assists per set with 8.98. The Beavers are coming off of two loses this past weekend against #13 Minnesota State and #4 Concordia-St. Paul. In 2011 U-Mary and BSU split. Earlier this season the Marauders beat the Beavers 3-2.
Minnesota Crookston (9-12, 5-9 NSIC) sits two games above U-Mary in the Northern Sun standings. Paving the way for UMC is DS Chelsea Schiller. Schiller, averaging over five digs a game, is second in the NSIC. Senior Amanda Swann has led the offensive attack averaging 3.02 kills per set in NSIC games. Last weekend Crookston also took on #4 Concordia-St. Paul and #13 Minnesota State. The Golden Eagles were swept in both matches. Earlier in the season U-Mary suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss to Crookston. The Marauders have not defeated the Golden Eagles since 2010.
Next week U-Mary will host their final game of the season against Minnesota State University Moorhead (11/1). This will be the first time the two teams have met this season. The Marauders are 0-5 against the Dragons in the past three seasons. U-Mary will round out the weekend on the road against Northern State University on Sunday (11/4). The Marauders have not beaten NSU in the past three seasons.
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