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LAST WEEK: The Marauders traveled to the Black Hills State Tournament in Spearfish, SD. On Friday (9/7) they opened up with Colorado Christian falling 3-0. Later that day U-Mary took on Augustana (SD) also falling 3-0. The Marauders finished up the weekend on Saturday (9/8) against Chadron State College and host school Black Hills State, falling 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.

OPP HONORED: With a strong individual performance of 26 kills, sophomore MB Allison Opp was named to the Yellow Jacket Classic All-Tournament Team. Eight teams participated in the tournament and Opp was one of 13 players to be named to the all-tournament team.

NORTHERN SUN IN THE SPOTLIGHT: With the release of the week two AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, the NSIC finds itself with a staggering six schools ranked in the top 25. Among those top 25 schools, the Northern Sun boasts an unheard of three schools in the top four. Perhaps the most compelling argument for the strength of the NSIC is that the five time defending national champions, Concordia-St. Paul, are ranked third in the country behind number two Southwest Minnesota State.

THIS WEEK: The Marauders will begin a five game conference home-stand. U-Mary will play the University of Minnesota-Crookston in their home opener on Friday (9/14). On Saturday (9/15) they will host Bemidji State University.

PARENTS NIGHT: Saturday's game against Bemidji State (9/15) will be parents night. Parents of the U-Mary volleyball players will be honored before the game.

UMC: Crookston started out strong with a 3-1 record in the Ferris State Tournament to open the season. The Golden Eagles followed up with a tough draw at the Minnesota Duluth Invite. UMC fell to #19 Ferris State to open the tournament and #4 University of Minnesota Duluth finishing the tournament with a 1-2 record. Crookston is led by sophomore OH Brittany Looker, who was All-NSIC honorable mention in 2011 and is leading the conference in service aces per game. Last season the Marauders fell 3-0 to the Golden Eagles at home.

BSU: Bemidji opened up its season with a 1-3 record at the Pittsburg State Gorilla Classic. The Beavers also played in the Duluth Volleyball Classic and fell to #19 Ferris State; BSU is now stand at 2-5 on the year. Bemidji will lean on senior OH, Bethany Thompson, who is second in the NSIC with 4.08 kills/game and set a career high with 19 against U-Mary last season. In 2011 the Marauders beat the Beavers 3-1 at home, but fell 3-1 on the road.

ON DECK: Next week the Marauders will host three conference games. Starting off the week on Tuesday (9/18) U-Mary will take on in-state rival Minot State. Looking ahead to the weekend the Marauders will square off against Winona State University (9/21) and Upper Iowa University (9/22).

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