BISMARCK, ND –The University of Mary volleyball team (3-13, 0-7 Northern Sun) opens a four-game road trip against the University of Sioux Falls (9-6, 4-3 NSIC) on Friday, October 8, at 5 pm. UMary then takes on #11 Southwest Minnesota State University (13-2, 5-2 NSIC) on Saturday, October 9, at 1 pm.

Last Time Out
Natalia Cruz reached her 1000^th career dig in the Marauders 3-0 defeat to Augustana University. Cruz is the third Marauder to reach the 1000^th dig mark behind Kendra Hobbs (1465) and Alex Brown (1566).

UMary struggled in the first set, with the Viking winning 25-12. The second set would be more competitive, with both teams having success. AU would end up winning a closely contested set 25-23.

The Marauders fell behind in the third set and could not gather any momentum as the Viking would win 25-13.

About The Opposition 
The University of Sioux Falls has a 9-6 record overall while going 4-3 in the NSIC. Senior Avery Yaksich leads the Cougars with 243 kills as she has posted a hitting percentage of .279. Leading USF is assists is senior Krista Goerger who has totaled 572 thus far. Sophomore Nichole Jacobson is tied for second in the NSIC with 23 aces. The Cougars leader in digs is senior TiaRose Nagami with 198. Freshman Jordan Kuper leads USF with 60 blocks.

Southwest Minnesota State University is the 11^th ranked team in the country, posting a 13-2 record overall and a 5-2 record in the conference. Senior Angela Young leads SMSU in kills with 215 while posting a .250 hitting percentage. Junior Alisa Bengen is the Mustangs leader in assists with 547. Leading SMSU with 208 digs is senior Payton Hjerleid. Freshman Katelyn Nichols leads the Mustangs with 60 blocks.

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 226. Sueker is 10^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 3.96.
• Kameron Selvig leads the Marauders in assists with 273 and is second on the team with 16 aces.
• Kaia Lill leads the Marauders with 19 aces and is second on the team with 183 assists. Lill ranks 8^th in the NSIC with 0.38 service aces per set.
• Nehkyah Ellis is second on the team with 154 digs and has 15 aces. Ellis is 19^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 2.96.
• Emily Torborg leads the Marauders in blocks with 29 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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