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Last week the Marauders ended their homestretch by playing three Northern Sun Games. First up for the Marauders was instate rival Minot State University. Coming off of a win over Bemidji State, U-Mary rode its momentum to a 3-0 sweep of Minot. On Friday the Marauders would fall to Winona State University 3-0. U-Mary finished up the weekend falling to Upper Iowa 3-0.
DEFENSE: Despite the Marauders record, they have proven to be at the top of the NSIC in multiple defensive categories. U-Mary leads the Northern Sun in opponents hitting at .128. The Marauders also are tops in team blocking with 3.0 blocks per set.
BLOCK PARTY: Keying the Marauders defense is their blocking game. With 2.37 blocks/set the Marauders are ranked 22nd in the country. At 3.0 blocks/set in conference play U-Mary is first in the NSIC. Leading the blocking attack for the Marauders are middleblockers Paige Smith and Allison Adams. Smith is ranked #43 in the country with 1.15 blocks/set on the year and #1 in Northern Sun play with 1.62 blocks/set. On Sept. 15, Smith tied the all-time NCAA Marauders match record with 9 total blocks. Adams is ranked sixth in NSIC play at 1.17 blocks/set.
This week the Marauders will take to the road. First up for U-Mary will be the Augustana College Vikings (9/28). Rounding out the weekend will be #20 Wayne State College (9/29).
Coming up for the Marauders will be another conference home-stand. Next week U-Mary will begin their four game home-stand against #6 University of Minnesota Duluth (10/5) and finish up with St. Cloud State University (10/6).
Augustana (9-4, 3-2 NSIC) is currently in 7th place in the conference. The Vikings are coming off of a loss to #2 Southwest Minnesota State on Tuesday night. Augustana was swept by the Mustangs 3-0. Prior to Tuesday's game, the Vikings were riding a two game conference win streak. Last weekend Augustana swept Bemidji State and Crookston. The Vikings frontline is led by junior MB Holly Hafemeyer. Hafemeyer, an All-NSIC first teamer in 2011, is ranked 7th in Northern Sun play with 3.88 kills/set. Setting the offense for the Vikings is junior S Katie Niesen. Niesen, a junior college transfer, is currently ranked 5th in conference play with 11.78 assists/set. The Marauders are winless against the Vikings the past three seasons.
Wayne State (11-3, 4-1 NSIC) is tied for second in the Northern Sun. Riding a five-game winning streak, the Wildcats will be entering their match-up with the Marauders with some momentum. Last weekend Wayne made quick work of conference foes Crookston and Bemidji by sweeping both of them. The Wildcats were back in action this week as they beat non-conference Chadron State 3-1 on Tuesday. Tied for 4th in Northern Sun play, freshman OH Lauren Sieckmann is key to Wayne State's offensive attack. Anchoring the defense for Wildcats is another freshman in RS freshman Courtney VanGroningen. VanGroningen is first in Northern Sun with 6.25 digs/set. The Marauders are winless against the Wildcats the past three seasons.
