THIS WEEK
The University of Mary Marauders hit the road and head south this weekend for two matches. Their first match will be against Wayne State College on Friday, October 19 at 6 pm. They will follow that up with a match against Augustana on Saturday, October 20 at 5 pm.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders hold a record of 3-19 overall with a 0-14 record in NSIC play.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders had a busy week last week, playing in three matches. The Marauders took on in-state rivals Minot State in the first match of the week, UMary would fall in three sets. The Marauders then returned home for the next two matches for homecoming week, falling in three sets to both Sioux Falls and #11 Southwest Minnesota State. The Marauders were able to bring great energy against national powerhouse, SMSU, keeping each set extremely close.
 
OPPO RESEARCH – Wayne State College
Wayne State comes into the match against the Marauders with a 17-6 record and a 9-5 record in conference play. The Wildcats started out the season with a 7-0 start. They are currently sitting in sixth place in the conference. Wayne State ranks first in the conference in blocks, lead by Tarrin Beller (1.24 blocks/set) and Jaci Brahmer (1.17 blocks/set) who rank first and second in blocks in the NSIC. Maddy Duffy ranks third in the conference in service aces, averaging 0.44 aces/set.
 
LAST MEETING
The last time the Marauders took on the Wildcats was during the 2017 season. WSC swept UMary in three straight sets. Madison Bergthold led the Marauders with two blocks while Geovana Almeida led the team with 11 digs.
 
OPPO RESEARCH – Augustana
Augustana comes into the match against UMary with an 8-14 record, going 3-11 in NSIC play. The Vikings started out the season with a 5-2 record but since then are 3-12. Augustana currently sits 13th in the conference. Courtney Place of Augustana ranks 3rd in the conference in kills, averaging 4.3 kills/set.
 
LAST MEETING
The Marauders took on the Vikings last during the 2017 season. The Marauders fell 3-0 in the home match versus Augustana. Morgan Schnabel recorded four kills and an ace in this match.
 
"SETTING" UP FOR SUCCESS
The Marauders continue to exploit teams with a dual attack when it comes to setters. The Marauders have had Brittany Brusven and Sydney Murphy split time the past few matches. Over the past three matches, Brusven has averaged 3.33 assists/set and Murphy has averaged 3.56 assists/set. Sydney Murphy ranks 13th in the NSIC averaging 7.34 assists per set.
 
"ACE" UP THE SLEEVE
The Marauders rank 9th as a team in service aces in the NSIC. This is in part to having two Marauders ranking highly in the conference for individual service aces. Sydney Murphy ranks 9th with 0.39 aces/set and Geovana Almeida ranks 15th (0.32). Murphy has recorded a team-leading 27 aces on the season. The Marauders have three other athletes who have recorded 15 or more aces. The list includes Natalia Cruz (18), Geovana Almeida (17) and Anna Nietfeld (15).
 
NOT IN OUR HOUSE
Madison Bergthold continues to lead the Marauders with 44 blocks on the season, averaging 0.69 blocks per set. Freshman, Bailey Harms has been seeing plenty of playing time late in the season and she has been taking full advantage of it. Harms is averaging, 0.67 blocks per set in her 24 sets she has played this season. Harms set a career- and team-high with five blocks against defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul. Harms followed that match up posting four blocks against both Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State.
 
DIG IT UP, OH, OH
Outside hitter, Natalia Cruz took over as the leader of the team in digs averaging 2.99 digs/set. Cruz has been doing so well on defense that she made a position change to libero against SMSU. The sophomore recorded 18 digs during her first start of the season at libero. Breanna Donarski ranks second on the team in digs averaging 2.86 digs/set
 
ATTACK AND KILL
Natalia Cruz not only leads the Marauders in digs but in kills as well. The sophomore has now recorded 129 kills on the season, averaging 1.77 kills/set. Morgan Schnabel sits in second with 123 kills and leads the team in kills per set (2.41). Katja Berge has jumped into third on the team in kills with 116, averaging 1.93 kills/set which is good enough for second most on the team. Anna Nietfeld looks to break the 100 kills mark this weekend, she is currently sitting at 98 on the season. Julianna Kari leads the Marauders in hitting percentage posting a .190.
 
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