LAST WEEK: The Marauders began a five-game conference home-stand by hosting the University of Minnesota-Crookston (9/14) and Bemidji State University (9/15). In the first game of the weekend U-Mary fell to the Golden Eagles in three sets. On Saturday (9/16) the Marauders looked as though they would fall again in three. Down 2-0 the Marauders jumped out to a quick 13-5 lead in the third set. Bemidji battled back and went on a 5-1 run to close the gap to 14-10. After a timeout, U-Mary went on a 6-2 run to make the score 20-12. The Marauders held on to win the set 25-16. In the fourth set the Marauders led the entire time and cruised to a 25-17 victory. In a back and forth fifth set U-Mary pulled off a 16-14 win to take the game in five for their first conference win of the year.
 
BEAT THE STREAK: With the win over Bemidji State, the Marauders snapped their 20-game conference losing streak and improved to 1-1 in the NSIC. U-Mary's last win before Saturday was against Bemidji State on Sept. 13, 2011.
 
NORTHERN SUN IN THE SPOTLIGHT: With the release of the week three 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 a remarkable three schools in the top four.
 
THIS WEEK: The Marauders will finish up their five-game conference home-stand. 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).
 
Minot State is off to a 3-8 start (0-2 NSIC). This past weekend Minot opened up conference play at home losing a pair of conference games against Bemidji, and Crookston. The Beavers are led by senior MH Shari Hewson who is averaging 2.3 Kills/Game and is hitting .250. Last year Minot defeated U-Mary 3-1 and 3-0.

Winona State is off to a 10-2 start (2-0 NSIC) including an active 9-game winning streak. WSU has only lost 10 sets the entire year. This past weekend Winona went on the road and won a pair of games against Wayne State and Augustana. The Warriors will lean heavily on senior MB Kate Horihan who is hitting .392 on the season good for 5th in the NSIC. Last year the Marauders fell 3-1 against Winona.
 
Upper Iowa is off to a 6-4 start (0-2 NSIC). The Peackocks opened up conference play last weekend by losing to Augustana and Wayne State. Setting up the offense for Upper Iowa is senior S Skylar Lessan. Lessan who was All-Conference honorable mention last year is averaging 9.66 assists/set on the season which ranks her 8th in the NSIC. Upper Iowa got the best of the Marauders last year winning 3-1.
 
ON DECK: Next week the Marauders will be on the road as they take on Augustana (7-3, 1-1 NSIC) and Wayne State College (7-3, 1-1 NSIC).
 
WEEKLY RELEASE

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