BISMARCK, N.D. - Looking to build on their win from earlier in the week, the University of Mary Volleyball team hosted the University of Minnesota Crookston in continuing Northern Sun action.
 
The match came down to the wire, but ultimately the Marauders (7-6, 2-2 NSIC) held on for the win in five sets over the Golden Eagles (5-7, 1-3 NSIC) as U-Mary took the first two sets of the match and outlasted Minnesota Crookston.
 
The first set was a constant back-and-forth affair with neither team owning a lead greater than a point and the set being tied 11 times en route to an even 12-12 score. The Marauders first broke through with a 9-1 run off five kills, three Golden Eagle errors, and a Thayna Silva service ace to jump out to a massive 21-13 lead.
 
Minnesota Crookston was not deterred as they rallied off eight straight points thanks to their defensive presence on the net with four team blocks in addition to a service ace, two kills, and a Marauder error to tie the set at 21 apeice.
 
U-Mary ended up being the better disciplined team, however, as they took advantage of three Minnesota Crookston errors and a kill from Alexis Jacobs to seal the first set win at 25-22.
 
The Golden Eagles built an early lead in the next set at 9-6, looking to keep the defensive momentum going, but the Marauders netted four straight points off a kill each from Jacobs, Rachel Astrup, and Katelyn Olson, in addition to another Minnesota Crookston error, to swing the lead back in U-Mary's favor at 10-9.
 
Minnesota Crookston responded in kind with three straight points off two Marauder errors and another team block to retake the lead at 12-10 and held the lead at 15-13. U-Mary rebounded with an Olson and Astrup team block, an Astrup kill, and a Golden Eagle error to take the lead back at 16-15 and the two teams fought to an eventual 18-18 tie.
 
At that point, Alexis Jacobs single handedly took over the offense as she powered her way for six of U-Mary's next seven points coming off kills, combined with a Minnesota Crookston error, to hand the Golden Eagles a 25-19 second set loss, which put the Marauders on the brink of their second conference win of the season.
 
The Marauder offense ended up stalling in the next two sets, starting with the Golden Eagles taking an early 5-1 lead in the third set and not allowing U-Mary within two points as Minnesota Crookston built a 19-13 cushion. The Marauders narrowed the gap down to 19-17 after two Jacobs kills, and a kill each from Astrup and Lauren Randall, to claw their way back into the set.
 
Unfortunately, the Marauders were never able to get over the hump as they closed the gap to 22-21, again at 23-22, and once more at 24-23, but the Golden Eagles held on for the win in the third set at 25-23.
 
The fourth set was just as bad for U-Mary, despite the score being tied at 3-3 early on, the wheels fell off the bus as Minnesota Crookston scored eight unanswered points from four Marauder errors, three kills, and a team block for a sizable 11-3 lead.
 
U-Mary fought tooth and nail to get back into the set and narrowed the Golden Eagles' lead to 14-11, but another wrench was thrown into the Marauder offense as Minnesota Crookston exploded for an 11-1 run off five U-Mary errors, two service aces, two team blocks and two kills to send the match to the fifth set at 25-12.
 
It would seem that crunch time would not favor the Marauders as Minnesota Crookston carried all the momentum going into the final set, but the difference between good teams and great teams is great teams don't get down on themselves, and the Marauders would not let the momentum get them down.
 
U-Mary held the early 6-4 lead in the final set only to see Minnesota Crookston score three straight points off a kill, a Marauder error, and a service ace, to swing the lead in favor of the Golden Eagles at 7-6. The Marauders responded with a 4-1 run off two Randall kills, a Silva kill, and a Golden Eagle error to take the lead back at 10-8.
 
Minnesota Crookston would not go gently into the good night as they tied the set at 10-10, again at 11-11, 12-12, and finally at 13-13, since for every point the Golden Eagles scored the Marauders responded with one of their own.
 
Jacobs, once again, took matters into her own hands and drove home another kill to put the match within reach at 14-13. After a Minnesota Crookston timeout, the Marauders sent their serve over the net and the attack attempt from the Golden Eagles fell out of bounds for an error that gave U-Mary the 15-13 win in the clinching set.
 
Jacobs proved the difference maker with 24 kills on 60 attacks, tying her career high in kills. She also added nine digs and one block assist on the evening.
 
Silva ended the match with 15 kills and 18 digs for her second straight double-double of the week and fifth on the year. Additionally, she recorded two assists, a service ace, and one block assist in the game, providing a hand in every phase of the match.
 
Olson, along with Geovana Almeida, split time as the primary driver of the offense as Katelyn finished with 25 assists, two service aces, and five digs, while Almeida finished with 27 assists and nine digs.
 
Alex Brown provided the steady hand in the back line with 20 digs on the night to go with four assists and one service ace.
 
The Marauders wrap up the weekend festivities with another match tomorrow night against Bemidji State University, starting at 6 pm, as the University of Mary will also be playing a football game in the early afternoon followed by a soccer match in the late afternoon.
 
#marauders#