Game Notes Live Video Live Stats
Last Week: Struggles continued for the U-Mary, as both St. Cloud State University and #2 University of Minnesota Duluth swept them. U-Mary played strong in the first set against SCSU hitting .323 and battled in the second set losing by just two, but ultimately were unable to get over the hump as they lost in three. Against St. Cloud State, freshman Janell Finkbeiner set a new 3-set match-high with 28 assists. Defensively, Alex Brown set a new 3-set match-high with 15 digs and Allison Adams tied her career-high with seven blocks. Facing a top-10 team for the third consecutive week, U-Mary could not handle UMD's offensive attack as the Bulldogs hit .424. Alexis Jacobs was a bright spot for the Marauders in the match finishing with a team-high 11 kills and eight digs. Jacobs finished the weekend with 23 kills in six sets (3.83 kills/set) , five blocks (0.83 blocks/set) and 12 digs (2.0 digs/set).
This Week: The Marauders will be on the road as they take on Bemidji State University of Friday Oct. 18 and University of Minnesota Crookston on Saturday.
The Records: BSU is 5-12 overall and 1-8 in conference play. The Beavers have lost their last four contests including losses to Northern State and MSU Moorhead on the road last weekend. UMC is 8-9 overall and 3-6 in conference play. The Golden Eagles defeated MSU Moorhead 3-2 last weekend one the road, but were swept by Northern State.
History: Since joining the NSIC, U-Mary and Bemidji State have split their 12 meetings with each team holding a 5-1 home record in the series. The teams have split each of the past two seasons with the home team winning all four games. Since 2006 U-Mary is 4-6 against Minnesota Crookston. The Golden Eagles have won each of the last three meetings including sweeping the Marauders in 2012.
Game Coverage: There will be a live video stream of both matches as well as live statistics available at http://www.goumary.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball
Social Media: You can also follow along with U-Mary volleyball in-game and general U-Mary updates on Twitter at @umarysports. Be sure to follow the Marauders Facebook page as well at "Marauder Athletics"
Next Week: The Marauders will play three games next week, all of which are at home. On Tuesday, Oct. 22, U-Mary will take on Minot State. The game will be volleyball's Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The Marauders will conclude the week with Minnesota State on Friday and Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday.
Veteran Leadership: The Marauders have a wealth of experience returning six starters and a total of 10 letterwinners. Of those 10 letterwinners U-Mary boasts a total of seven juniors and seniors. The Marauders seniors include DS Alicia Ewen, OH Allison Opp and S Emily Turkowski.
Captains: The Marauders announced that senior Emily Turkowski, junior Morgan Dake and sophomore Alexis Jacobs have been selected as U-Mary's 2013 team captains.
Fresh Faces: U-Mary has added five freshmen to their roster for the 2013 season. Rachel Astrup (MB, 6-0, Bozeman Mont./Bozeman HS), Alexandra Brown (Libero, 5-6, Minneapolis, Minn./Blaine HS), Janell Finkbeiner (S, 5-9, Ramsey, Minn./Elk River HS), Ashley Koppinger (OH, 5-7, Minot, N.D./Our Redeemer's HS) and Brianna Pernsteiner (MB, 6-1, Eagan Minn./Eagan HS) have bolstered the 2013 lineup.
Youth Movement: U-Mary's top attacker, setter and defensive specialist are all specialist. Averaging nearly three kills/set Alexis Jacobs pace the Marauders offense in her redshirt freshman season. Assisting Jacobs has been true freshman Janell Finkbeiner, who is averaging 5.55 assists/set. Anchoring the defense for U-Mary is true freshman Alex Brown who is averaging just under four digs/set.
Jacobs: After a promising start to the 2012 season, Alexis Jacobs sustained a season-ending injury in the first weekend of the season. The redshirt freshman and Bismarck native is a vital part of U-Mary's attack this season. So far Jacobs is leading the team with 2.96 kills/set and is second with 2.23 digs/set.
Adams: Allison Adams came on strong as a freshman leading the team in hitting, but struggled to find her stroke as a sophomore. The 6-0 junior appears to be back to her freshman form leading the team hitting .185. Adams is third on the team averaging 1.64 kills/set
Dake Watch: With the announcement of the NSIC preseason coaches' poll, U-Mary junior outside hitter Morgan Dake was tabbed as the Marauders' player to watch. Dake started 19 of 23 games for U-Mary last season and led the team with a .204 hitting percentage. Dake finished fourth on the team with 117 kills and was third with 46 blocks. Six of those 46 blocks came in a career night against Winona State on Sept. 21. The junior from Bakersfield, Calif. last year was named to the NSIC All-Academic Team and was elected as U-Mary's Female Strength Athlete of the Year.
Block Party: The Marauders are sixth in the NSIC with 2.04 blocks/set. With 1.00 blocks/set, Paige Smith is third in the conference. Lauren Boldt (0.73) and Allison Adams (0.67) have also been key to the blocking attack.
Coaches Poll: Despite vast improvement last season and returning six starters, the Marauders enter 2013 picked to finish last. U-Mary finished ahead of both Minot State and Bemidji State for 13th place in the NSIC in 2012. With six-time defending champion Concordia-St. Paul picked to finish first for the 10th consecutive season, the NSIC looks to be among the top volleyball conferences in the country again this season.
Beat the Best to Be the Best: The Northern Sun is the premiere volleyball conference in the country. The NSIC is not only strong up top, but also boasts a depth of talented teams. With the release of the latest AVCA Coaches Poll the NSIC has an incredible four teams in the top 15 in the country, including the #2 ranked Minnesota Duluth and #1 ranked and six-time defending National Champions Concordia University-St. Paul.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS (Career rankings since '06)
4: Emily Turkowski and Alexis Jacobs have each recorded four aces against Alabama-Huntsville on Sept. 14 in a 3-2 win. Four aces marks new career-highs for Jacobs and it is the just the second time since 2006 that two Marauders have had four or more aces in the same match. With 0.39 aces/set, Turkowski is ninth in the conference.
19: Jacobs' 19 kills against Sioux Falls is the highest match total of any active U-Mary player and the most a Marauders player has had since 2010.
65: Career service aces for Turkowski which ranks second just six behind Laci Martha's 71.
100: Matches played for Allison Opp placing her at fifth on the career list, just one out of fourth place.
130: Career blocks for Paige Smith in just 134 sets. Smith ranks tops among U-Mary players with 0.93 blocks/set on the career list.
191: Career blocks for Allison Adams, who is second on the career list.
200: With a career .200h hitting percentage, Morgan Dake is third on U-Mary's career list.
587: Opp has the highest career kill total of active U-Mary players and is fourth on the career list.
600: On Sept. 7 Morgan Dake became one of just two players since U-Mary left the NAIA in 2006 to hit .600 or better in a match with at least 20 attempts. Dake had 14 kills to just two errors on 20 attempts.
945: Defensive Specialist Clare Lulich ranks second in service percentage on U-Mary's career list.
SCOUTING REPORTS
BSU: The Beavers finished 2012 in last place in the NSIC (4-23, 2-18). In the preseason poll BSU was tabbed to move up two spots to 14th. Bemidji State currently sits in 15th place in the conference with a 1-8 record (5-12 overall). Despite their struggles, the Beavers have had outstanding play from hometown freshman Jessica Yost. A 6-3 OH, Yost is sixth in conference play with 3.65 kills/set. Junior Courtney Volkmann starts the offense for the Beavers with 8.59 assists/set and sophomore Kayla DeJong holds down the defense with 4.24 digs/set. As a team Bemidji State is being outhit .179 to .217. The Beavers has the second fewest blocks/set in the conference at just over 1.5.
UMC: Minnesota Crookston finished the 2012 season with a 7-13 NSIC record (11-16 overall) good for an 11th place finish. The Golden Eagles were tabbed by the coaches to hold down the 11th spot again this season. So far UMC is 3-6 in conference play (8-9 overall) and finds itself in 11th place. Individually, Brittany Looker has performed well for the Golden Eagles and ranks 7th in conference play with 3.57 kills/set. The majority of Looker's opportunities have come thanks to freshman Sierra Yost, who is 10th in the conference with 9.46 assists/set. For the season Chelsea Wiesner has been a mainstay for the UMC defense averaging 4.26 digs/set. So far this season Minnesota Crookston has been outhit .172 to .213. The Golden Eagles are 13th in the NSIC with 1.6 blocks/set.
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