BISMARCK, ND –The University of Mary volleyball team (3-15, 0-9 Northern Sun) wraps up their four-game road trip against #14 St. Cloud State University (13-4, 8-1 NSIC) on Friday, October 15, at 6 pm. UMary then takes on University of Minnesota Duluth (10-7, 3-6 NSIC) on Saturday, October 16, at 2 pm.

Last Time Out
The Marauders fell to the University of Sioux Falls and to #11 Southwest Minnesota State University last weekend.

SMSU came out dominant in the first set, winning 25-12 over UMary. The Marauders competed better in the second set but couldn't handle the Mustangs high-powered attack as SMSU won 25-16. UMary got off to a hot start in the third set as they opened to an 8-4 lead. The Marauders showed great determination but fell to the Mustangs 25-20.

UMary battled well against the Cougars with the first set being tied at 21-21. USF rallied off four of the next five points to win 25-22. The Marauders would find themselves tied with the Cougars 14-14 in the second set. USF would once again close out strong and win 25-18. UMary struggled in the third set, which saw USF take it 25-12.

About The Opposition 
St. Cloud State University is the #14^th ranked team in the country and sits in 3^rd place in the NSIC. SCSU has a 13-4 record overall while going 8-1 in the Northern Sun. The Huskies leader in kills is sophomore Kenzie Foley with 239. Senior Maddy Torve leads the NSIC with 726 assists. SCSU's leader in blocks is Rossi Phebie who has earned 70. Kenzie Foley and senior Rachel Linsey are tied for a team-lead in digs with 189.

The University of Minnesota Duluth sits in 11^th place in the NSIC with a 10-7 record overall and a 3-6 record in the NSIC. The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Cianna Selbitschka, who has 268 kills. Junior Madison Gordon leads the team in assists with 643. Sophomore Grace Daak leads the NSIC in blocks with 79. UMD's leader in digs is senior Lindsay Lanoue, who has 303.

Stats To Watch

• Kennedy Drewis leads the team with 115 kills and is third on the team with 22 blocks.
• Natalia Cruz is second on the team with 113 kills. She also has 135 digs and 16 blocks.
• Kaia Sueker is the team leader in digs with 250. Sueker is 10^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 3.97.
• Kameron Selvig leads the Marauders in assists with 302 and is second on the team with 16 aces.
• Kaia Lill leads the Marauders with 20 aces and is second on the team with 200 assists. Lill ranks 8^th in the NSIC with 0.36 service aces per set.
• Nehkyah Ellis is second on the team with 169 digs and has 15 aces. Ellis is 19^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 2.91.
• Bailey Harms lead the Marauders in blocks with 34 and has 65 kills.
• Emily Torborg is second on the team with 31 blocks while earning 14 aces.

Coaches
Former assistant coach Abby Pollart is returning to the University of Mary as the new Marauders head volleyball coach. Pollart spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Central Community College (CCC) Raiders in Columbus, NE, from 2019-21. Pollart joined the Marauders as an assistant coach for a season in 2018-19 where she served as recruiting coordinator, oversaw academics, and assisted in fundraising, among other tasks.

Pollart named Bree Ackermann as her assistant coach for the 2021 season. Ackermann competed for four years at Wayne State College from 2014-2017 where she made the NSIC All-Academic Team three times. Playing as a libero/defensive specialist for the Wildcats, Ackermann appeared in 115 games. Ackermann began coaching at Scotus Central Catholic High School in Columbus, NE, where she served as the assistant volleyball coach and head junior varsity coach.

Returning Marauders
Senior Natalia Cruz returns as the Marauders 2021 Northern Sun Player to Watch. Cruz led the team in digs, digs per set, service aces and service aces per set in 2019. Cruz ranked 14th in the NSIC in digs with 3.98 per set.

Other notable returners include seniors Brittany Brusven and Bailey Harms. Bruvsen played in 12 sets in 2019 while recording 37 assists, averaging 3.08 assists per set. Harms was redshirted in 2019, but as a freshman in 2018 she played in 14 matches during her freshman campaign. She recorded 57 kills and 29 blocks. Harms averaged .66 blocks per set which were second on the team.

Junior Nehkyah Ellis returns to the Marauders after playing in 54 sets in 2019. Ellis was 2nd on the team with 1.81 kills per set, had the 2nd highest serve reception percentage of .930, and had 119 digs.

New Faces
Sophomores Kaia Lill, Laura Petik, Emily Torborg, Kameron Selvig, Reagan Celaya, Olivia Dickerson and Maddie Cooper will all compete in their first full season as a Marauder. They were able to gain valuable experience as they were able to play four games in the spring 2021 season. Cooper was second on the team with 2.33 kills per set in the spring 2021 season and Celaya was third with 2.14 kills per set.

Other new additions include junior Kennedy Drewis who transferred from Iowa Western Community College after previously attending Division I Western Illinois University. Junior Kaia Sueker competed in the Cross Country and Track teams at UMary and was a member of the 2019 NSIC Cross Country Championship Team. Both were able to compete with the Marauders in the spring 2021 season.

The Marauders bring in six new freshmen, bringing new energy and excitement to the team. The freshman includes Kayla Lewinski, Elaina Lubeck, Robi Binagi, Alexandria Harper, Emma Toerber and Chloe Lieser will look to make an impact this season.

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