THIS WEEK
The University of Mary volleyball team heads south for their longest road trip of the season this weekend. The Marauders will battle two nationally ranked opponents in Upper Iowa and Winona State, beginning with a match against #17 WSU on Friday, October 25 at 6 PM in Winona, MN. They will follow that up with a match against #21 UIU on Saturday, October 25 at 2 PM in Fayette, IA. Game coverage for both games will be available at goumary.com/coverage

 
THE RECORD
The Marauders come into the weekend with a 1-19 record, going 0-11 in NSIC play.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Marauders took the court was for three games last week. The Marauders opened the week by falling in four sets to MSUM on the road. UMary returned home to take on (RV) Minnesota State and #5 Concordia – St. Paul, dropping both games in three sets. The Marauders had dominant performances at the net, recording game highs in blocks against Minnesota State and Concordia – St. Paul. UMary was led by Nehkyah Ellis who had a massive 16 kills, 16 digs double-double against MSUM followed by a near double-double against MSU.
 
OPPO RESEARCH – WINONA STATE

Winona State owns a 15-4 record, going 7-4 in NSIC play. A successful conference record in the nations best volleyball conference has earned WSU national recognition, ranking 17^th in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Notable victories have come over national powerhouses SMSU and CSP. The Warriors rank fourth in the NSIC in hitting percentage and fifth in blocks. WSU is led by Megan Flom who leads the NSIC and is top 10 in the country in hitting percentage, posting a .397 clip. Madison Rizner is a force at the net for the Warriors averaging 1.06 blocks/set, third best in the NSIC.

 
LAST MEETING

The last time the Marauders and Warriors met was during the 2018 season when WSU brought UMary down in three sets. The Marauders were on fire serving, recording a game high of six aces. Anna Nietfeld and Sydney Murphy each had two aces of their own. Natalia Cruz led the team with seven kills and 11 digs.

 
OPPO RESEARCH – UPPER IOWA

Upper Iowa comes into the weekend with a 13-6 overall record, going 5-6 in conference play. UIU's impressive start to the season has earned them the #21 spot in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Peacocks rank top five in the NSIC in both hitting percentage and digs. UIU is led by Anna Winter who leads the NSIC in kills, averaging 4.44/set. Setter, Carlee Ketchum ranks fourth in the conference in assists, averaging 10.65/set. On the defensive end, the Peacocks are led by Sarah Johnson (1.01 blocks/set) and Haley Weepie (4.46 digs/set) both ranking sixth in the NSIC.

 
LAST MEETING
The last time UMary and UIU met was in 2018 with the Peacocks dropping the Marauders in three sets. Natalia Cruz led the way for UMary with four kills, nine digs, and an ace. Brittany Brusven led the Marauders in assists with 12 on the game.

 
 
REACHING MILESTONES
Sydney Murphy recorded her 1,000^th career assist against Minnesota Duluth. Reaching the major milestone just 14 games into her junior season. Morgan Schnabel joined her teammate by reaching a major career milestone. Schnabel reached her 500^th career kill against Bemidji State, just 17 games into her junior season.
 
CHASING MILESTONES
Two Marauders are nearing big time career milestone.
Natalia Cruz has 688 career digs, surpassing the 600 digs mark and setting her sights on 1,000.
Katja Berge has 321 career kills, surpassing the 300 kills mark with her sights set on 500.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Double-doubles have been the name of the game for the Marauders early on in the season. Setter Sydney Murphy has been a machine, recording 12 double-doubles in the first 20 matches of the season in assists and digs. . Morgan Schnabel has five double-doubles of her own with digs and kills. Anna Nietfeld adds four double-doubles of her own. Nehkyah Ellis has exploded onto the scene, recording two double-doubles in the last four matches.
 
ATTACK AND KILL
Morgan Schnabel leads the Marauders in kills with a total of 210, averaging 2.92 kills per set. Schnabel ranks 17^th in the NSIC in kills/set and 15^th in total kills. Anna Nietfeld is behind her averaging 1.65 kills/set, recording a total of 94 kills on the season.
 
"SETTING" THE TEAM UP FOR SUCCESS
Sydney Murphy averages 8.08 assists per set, ranking her 12^th in the NSIC in assists. She has 504 total assists which puts her at 13^th in total assists in the NSIC.
 
"ACE" UP THE SLEEVE
Natalia Cruz leads the Marauders with 19 service aces on the season. Sydney Murphy is right behind her with 13. Morgan Schnabel is third on the team with 12.
 
DIG IT UP, OH OH
Natalia Cruz leads the Marauders in digs with 269 on the season. Her 269 digs ranks her 13^th in the NSIC and her 3.74 digs/set ranks 15^th. Sydney Murphy (174) and Morgan Schnabel (154) rank second and third on the team in digs. UMary ranks seventh as a team in the NSIC in digs.
 
NOT IN OUR HOUSE
Hannah Hanson and Julianna Hughes are tied for the team lead in blocks with 31 on the season. Morgan Schnabel is right behind them with 28.

 
#Marauders#