Last Week: The University of Mary struggled this past weekend as they were swept by both Augustana College and #8 Wayne State College. Against Augustana, Alexis Jacobs was U-Mary's top performer leading the team with 11 digs and nine kills. Despite facing stiffer competition against Wayne State, U-Mary played significantly better being outhit by just .082. Individually Allison Adams and Paige Smith were the Marauders' top performers. Adams finished with 10 kills and hit .381. Smith had nine kills and hit .333. With 6 blocks this weekend Smith remains one of the top blockers in the conference averaging just under one per set.
This Week: The Marauders will begin a four game homestretch this weekend. U-Mary will host #7 Southwest Minnesota State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sioux Falls on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center.
Parents Night: Saturday's meeting with Sioux Falls will be Parents Night. Parents of U-Mary's volleyball players will be honored during the game.
History: Since U-Mary joined the NSIC in 2006 they are 0-12 against SMSU. The Marauders fell 3-0 to the Mustangs in Marshall, Minn. in 2012. Last season was the first time U-Mary and Sioux Falls have played since the Marauders joined the NSIC. U-Mary fell 3-1 to USF in South Dakota.
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"
SMSU: Consistently one of the top teams in the conference and the nation, Southwest Minnesota State finished 2012 in a three-way tie for NSIC Champion. With familiar faces returning, the NSIC coaches selected the Mustangs to finish third in 2013. Currently SMSU is tied for first place with a perfect 5-0 record (10-3 overall). First team all-conference selection Abbey Thissen is in top form and is third in the league in conference play with 3.95 kills/set. A big reason for Thissen's success is fellow first team all-conference selection Emilee Gutzmer. Gutzmer is second in conference play with 12.37 assists/set. Second-team All-NSIC selection Rachel Westby anchors the Mustangs defense and is leading the conference with 5.74 digs/set in NSIC play. The Mustangs are outhitting opponents .232 to .184 in conference play.
USF: In their first season competing as a part of the NSIC, Sioux Falls finished in 13th place with a 5-15 record in 2012. The Cougars are predicted to jump up a spot to 12th per the preseason coaches poll. USF is off to a bumpy start in conference play in 2013 with a 1-4 record (8-5 overall). Junior OH Emily Johnson has lead the Cougars offensive attack averaging 3.47 kills per/set. NSIC Player to Watch Alexa Reed has been providing Johnson with her numerous looks averaging 9.90 assists/set. Andrea Odbert has held down the back line for the Cougars averaging 4.24 digs/set. In conference play USF has hit a respectable .222, but defensively has allowed opponents to hit .261
Next Week: The Marauders will finish their four game homestretch next weekend as they host St. Cloud State University and second ranked University of Minnesota Duluth.
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 all committed to play for the Marauders and will bolster the roster in 2013.
Setting the Table: Being the primary setter a year ago and averaging nearly eight assists/set, Emily Turkowski has some help this season as she has teamed with freshman Janell Finkbeiner to set the offense. Finkbeiner is averaging 5.09 assist/set and Turkowski 3.56. Both have been in double-digits in nine of U-Mary's 12 matches.
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 will be a vital part of U-Mary's attack this season. So far Jacobs is leading the team with 2.67 blocks/set and is second with 2.40 digs/set.
Adams: Allison Adams came on strong as a freshmen 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 .265. Adams is fourth on the team averaging 1.71 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 fifth in the NSIC with 2.07 blocks/set. With 0.95 blocks/set, Paige Smith is near the tops in the league in that category. Lauren Boldt (0.77) has also been key to the blocking attack.
Blocking: In just 126 career sets, sophomore Paige Smith already has 115 career blocks (.91/set). Junior Allison Adams is slightly behind Smith with 0.90/set but has 180 for her career. Adams is second all-time since 2006.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
65: With 65 career service aces Emily Turkowski is ranks second since 2006 just six behind Laci Martha.
96: Turkowski and Allison Opp are tied with the fifth most matches played since 2006. Both have played in 96 matches and are on pace to crack the top three.
200: With a career .203 hitting percentage, Morgan Dake is one of just three U-Mary players to have a career hitting percentage above .200 in the Marauders' NCAA era.
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.
941: Defensive Specialist Clare Lulich has a career serve percentage of .941 which ranks her second in U-Mary history since 2006.
950: Turkowski has attempted the second most serves with 950 career attempts. She is on pace to be one of two players over 1,000 since 2006 and to catch Laci Murtha who has 1128.
2245: With 2205 career assists Emily Turkowski has more than double the next person on the career list since U-Mary left the NAIA in 2006. Kristin Collins is a distant second with 1,088.
Four Aces: 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 U-Mary left NAIA in 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.
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 10 in the country, including the #2 ranked Minnesota Duluth and #1 ranked and six-time defending National Champions Concordia University-St. Paul.
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