Last Week: Coming off a strong performance winning two of three matches at the Mount Olive Tournament, the University of Mary opened conference play at home on Sept. 19 against Northern State University. The Marauders momentum was stifled as they fell to the Wolves in three sets. Morgan Dake was U-Mary's top hitter in the match finishing with six kills and hitting .267. On Sept. 21 the Marauders hit the road to face the MSU Moorhead Dragons. U-Mary dropped the first two sets of the match, but rallied to win the third. MSUM was too strong down the stretch, however, as they defeated U-Mary 3-1. Alexis Jacobs led U-Mary with seven kills and was second on the team with 10 digs. Alex Brown did her best to anchor the defense finishing with 23 digs, her four-set season-high.
This Week: U-Mary will start the week on the road against in-state rival Minot State University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Marauders will be back on the road for the weekend taking on Augustana College on Friday at 7 p.m. and finishing with Wayne State College on Saturday at 4 p.m.
History: U-Mary has defeated Minot State four of the last seven times the teams have faced. Last season was the first time the two teams competed as members of the NSIC and the teams split, each winning at home. Since joining the NSIC in 2006 U-Mary is 0-8 against Augustana, seven of which were conference games. The Marauders were swept by the Vikings both times they faced in 2012. Since joining the NSIC U-Mary has only defeated Wayne State once. That win came on Sept. 20, 2008 and the Wildcats have won the last five meetings, including sweeping the Marauders at Wayne in 2012.
Game Coverage: There will be a live video stream of all three 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 men's soccer in-game updates on Twitter at @umarysports. Be sure to follow the Marauders Facebook page as well "Marauder Athletics"
Marauders Weekly: Every Sunday, catch up on all things Marauders with Marauders weekly on KFYR-TV. Marauders weekly airs after the Night Report and is hosted by Alec Ausmus. Ausmus will recap and highlight the week in U-Mary sports as well as have weekly guests. Marauders weekly is scheduled to air at 10:35 PM, but depending on NBC's Sunday Night Football may be delayed. For those who can't catch Marauders weekly on Sunday, a replay will be played ME-TV which can be found on 5.2 over the air and on basic cable (in the Bismarck area). Check your local listings for more information.
Next Week: The Marauders will begin a four game homestretch on Friday Oct. 4 as they host Southwest Minnesota State University at 7 p.m. On Saturday U-Mary will host the University of Sioux Falls at 6 p.m. Saturday's game will be Parent's Night.
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 5.36 assist/set and Turkowski 3.42. Both have been in double-digits in seven of U-Mary's nine 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 2.73 blocks/set and is second with 2.33 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 .255. Adams is third on the team averaging 1.69 assists/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 2.00 blocks/set. With 0.94 blocks/set, Paige Smith is near the tops in the league in that category. Lauren Boldt (0.62) has also been key to the blocking attach.
105: In just 117 career sets, sophomore Paige Smith already has 105 career blocks (.90/set).
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.
2205: 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.
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 #1 ranked Minnesota Duluth and #2 ranked and six-time defending National Champions Concordia University-St. Paul.
D2ADA: Senior Allison Opp and 2013 graduate Morgan Zabel were 2012-13 recipients of the D2 Athletic Director Association (D2ADA) Academic Achievement Award. The program recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the NCAA D2 level. In order for a student-athlete to receive the award, the student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work, and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.
SCOUTING REPORTS
Minot State: With a 2-18 conference record Minot State finished 2012 in 15th place in the NSIC, the same spot they were tabbed to finish in 2013 in the coaches poll. After a strong rookie campaign outside hitter Mallory Sall was named Minot's NSIC Player to Watch. Sall is leading the Beavers with 3.12 kills/set while hitting .223. Junior OH Jenn Dixon is not far behind Sall in kills averaging 3.07 kills, while hitting at a .263 clip. Minot State's offense runs through junior S Emily Bryne who is averaging 9.19 assists/set. Sophomore MH Tarah Dabovich and freshman L Alexis Boutin headline the Beavers' defensive efforts. Dabovich is leading the team with 0.74 blocks/set and Boutin is leading the team with 3.37 digs/set. With (5-6, 1-1 NSIC) record so far this season, Minot has been outhit .224 to .220 this season, but have outkilled their opponents 12.1 to 11.1.
Augustana: With an 11-9 conference record Augustana finished 2012 in 8th place in the NSIC, but with a strong corps of returners have been tabbed to finish 5th in 2013 in the coaches poll. Middle blocker Holly Hafemeyer represented the Vikings on the All-NSIC First Team in 2012 and returns for her final year. Hafemeyer is 7th in the NSIC with a .379 hitting percentage and fourth with 4.11 kills/set. Teammate junior OH Courtney Yskeris, Augie's other top attacker, is second in the conference with 4.57 kills/set while hitting .317. Their success has been due largely to sophomore S Marissa Johnson, who is leading the NSIC with 13.26 assists/set. Defensively Hafemeyer is leading the NSIC with 1.29 blocks/set. On the season The Vikings (8-2, 0-2 NSIC) are outhitting opponents .304 to .170 and are third in the NSIC with 2.11 blocks/set.
Wayne State: With a 14-6 conference record Wayne State finished 2012 in fourth place in the NSIC and ranked 18th in the country. This season WSC was tabbed to finish fourth again by the coaches. The Warriors return two second team All-NSIC performers from a year ago in senior OH Cori Hobbs and sophomore S Leisa McClintock. Hobbs is fifth in the conference with 3.94 kills/set and is hitting .232. Freshman OH Alyssa Fraudenorfer is among the conference leaders hitting .368 and is second on the team with 2.74 kills/set. McClintock has paced the offense averaging 10.76 assists/set. Averaging over 17 digs/set as a team, sophomore L Courtney VanGronigen and sophomore OH Katie Hughes are each averaging over four digs/set to anchor the Wildcats' defense. #8 Wayne State (9-1, 1-1 NSIC) is outhitting opponents .251-.142.
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