MANKATO, MN – The University of Mary volleyball team (2-6) travels to Mankato, MN as they take on Minnesota State University – Mankato on Friday, September 17, at 6 pm. UMary then travels to St. Paul, MN, to compete against #4 Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday, September 18, at 2 pm.

Last Time Out

The Marauders went 1-3 in the Rollins College Invitational. UMary lost its first three games of the tournament to Georgia College (2-3), Newberry College (0-3) and University of West Georgia (1-3). The Marauders were able to rally back and defeat Anderson University 3-2.

UMary won the first set 25-23. Anderson University then took home the next two sets as the Trojans held a 2-1 lead. The Marauders would rally back and win the fourth set 25-23 and the final set 15-8, giving UMary its second win of the season.

Senior Natalia Cruz was named to the Rollins Invitational All-Tournament Team. Cruz averaged 11.5 kills and 11.75 digs over the four-game tournament. Cruz kicked off the tournament on Friday with 14 kills and 17 digs against Georgia College.

About The Opposition 

Minnesota State University – Mankato has a 5-3 record to begin the 2021 season. The Mavericks are led by Mariah Edgington, who leads the team with 90 kills. Senior Dana Schindler is second on the team with 80 kills and has a kill percentage of .317. Freshmen Brooke Bolwerk leads the Mavericks with 161 assists. Fifth-year senior Mara Quam is the team leader in digs with 162.

Concordia University, St. Paul is ranked #4 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Golden Bears have begun the season with a 6-2 record. Sophomore Jasmine Mulvihill has 89 kills to lead the team. Junior Ellie Veldman leads the Golden Bears with 268 assists. Fifth-year senior Tori Hanson has a team-best 105 digs.

Stats To Watch

• Kennedy Drewis leads the team with 74 kills and is tied for first with 15 blocks.
• Natalia Cruz is second on the team with 64 kills. She also has 77 digs, eight blocks and six aces.
• Kaia Sueker is the team leader in digs with 133. Suecker is 9^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 4.16.
• Kameron Selvig leads the Marauders in assists with 151 and is tied for first with nine aces.
• Kaia Lill is second on the team with 99 assists and third with 8 aces. Lill ranks 19^th in the NSIC with 0.33 service aces per set.
• Nehkyah Ellis is tied for first with nine aces and has 82 digs. Ellis is 20^th in the NSIC in service aces per set as she averages 0.33. She also ranks 16^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 3.04.

New 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, Megan Kruschke, 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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