BISMARCK, ND – Returning home after spending the last couple weeks on the road, the University of Mary volleyball team will host a pair of nationally-recognized teams this weekend, including an unusual Saturday morning rise-and-shine game on Sept. 29-30.
 
The Marauders open the weekend with a visit from the 13^th-ranked Winona State University Warriors on Friday at 6 pm in the McDowell Activity Center.
 
The next day comes early when the Upper Iowa University Peacocks, who are receiving votes in the national poll, challenge the Marauders at 9 am on Saturday in the McDowell Activity Center.
 
Saturday is a full day for Marauders athletics, hence the creative start time for volleyball. UMary women's soccer hosts Southwest Minnesota State University at 11 am and Marauders football faces Minot State University in the Big Lake Battle trophy game at 2:30 pm. Both of those games are at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.
 
Last playing at home on Sept. 14, the Marauders begin a four-game home stand with the Warriors match on Friday. The Warriors are 9-4 overall and tied for fifth in the Northern Sun at 3-2 in league games. One of the top attacking teams in the NSIC, the Warriors are hitting .248 as a team. Danielle Rampart is 7^th in the NSIC with 3.70 kills per game. McKenna Larsen is 5^th in assists at 11.1/set and third in aces (.49/set).
 
Upper Iowa comes into the weekend 11-3 overall and 2-3 in the Northern Sun and sits tied for eighth overall. Anna Winter (3.26 kills/set) and Haley Weepie (2.89) are both in the top 20 of the NSIC in kills. Ashley Larson is fourth in digs/set (5.02).
 
Headlining the Marauders efforts is senior Lauren Randall. The outside hitter continued her furious play last week when she pummeled Minot State for 26 kills and paired 17 kills and a .366 attack percentage against #2 Concordia-St. Paul.
 
Randall leads the NSIC in kills/set with 4.64 and is one of only two players in the conference averaging more than 4.00. She has the top two marks in the conference for most kills in a game (29 and 28) and three of the top six. Her hitting percentage of .234 is a team-best and a career-high. She is third on the Marauders in digs at 2.38/set. In her last nine games Randall has rung up a team-high seven double doubles.
 
Amanda Lopes is the other Marauders player among the NSIC statistical leaders. The junior transfer from Seward County Community College averages 9.21 assists/set, 9^th in the NSIC. A native of Santos, SP, Brazil, Lopes also has six double doubles. Her top effort was 58 assists, 12 digs and five aces against Lake Superior State.
 
The back row is led by a pair of defensive specialists. Junior Geovana Almeida averages a team-best 3.10 digs/set. Freshman Jody Heidel is close behind at 2.78.
 
A pair of underclassmen are also playing a key offensive role. Sophomore Anna Nietfeld is second on the team with 2.00 kills/set. She hit for a season-high 17 vs. Concordia (NE) and reached double figures four times. Freshman Morgan Schnabel has hit double digits in kills twice this year and averages 1.93 kills/set.
 
The Marauders are 5-9 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC to tie for 12^th.
 
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