BISMARCK, ND –The University of Mary volleyball team (6-21, 3-15 Northern Sun) wraps up the 2021 season as they host #14 Concordia University, St. Paul (20-7, 14-4 NSIC) on Friday, November 12, at 6 pm. The Marauders then compete against Minnesota State University - Mankato (12-14, 7-11 NSIC) on Saturday, November 13, at 2 pm.

UMary currently sits in 13^th place in the NSIC.

Senior Day
The University of Mary will honor seniors Natalia Cruz, Bailey Harms, Kennedy Drewis and Brittany Brusven on Saturday after the game against MSU has completed.

Last Time Out
The Marauders were defeated in both games over the weekend to Upper Iowa University (3-0) and Winona State University (3-0).

About The Opposition 
Concordia University, St. Paul has a 20-7 record overall while going 14-4 in the Northern Sun. Sophomore Jasmine Mulvihill led the Golden Bears in kills with 301. CSPs leader in assists is freshman Aryana Forberg, who has 733. Junior Kennedy Brady was the team leader in blocks with 96. The Golden Bears leader in digs is senior Tori Hanson, who has 360.

Minnesota State University – Mankato is 12-4 overall while going 7-11 in the NSIC. Leading the team in kills with 204 is junior Jessica Nelson. MSU's leader in assists is senior Dana Schindler, who has 478. Senior Mara Quam has the most digs on the Mavericks roster with 421. Leading MSU in blocks is freshman Kiya Durant, who has 102. 

Stats To Watch

• Nehkyah Ellis is first on the team in kills with 214 and aces with 30. She is second on the team with 270 digs. Ellis is 19^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 3.00 and is 16^th in the NSIC in service aces per set at 0.33.
• Kennedy Drewis is third on the team with 115 kills and 22 blocks.
• Natalia Cruz is second on the team in kills with 160. She also has 196 digs and 20 blocks.
• Kaia Sueker is the team leader in digs with 373. Sueker is 10^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 3.93.
• Kameron Selvig leads the Marauders in assists with 550 and is second on the team in aces with 26. She ranks 14^th in the NSIC in assists per set with 5.79.
• Emily Torborg leads the team with 46 blocks while earning 20 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 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, Robi Binagi, Alexandria Harper, Emma Toerber and Chloe Lieser will look to make an impact this season.

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