PUEBLO, CO - As the 2021 season rapidly approaches, the University of Mary volleyball team is excited to get back on the court as they compete in the Steel City Showcase. The showcase is hosted by Colorado State University Pueblo in Pueblo, CO, and will begin on Friday, September 3, and finish on Saturday, September 4.

UMary begins its season competing against Chadron College at 9 am and Rollins College at 3 pm on Friday. The Marauders then take on SCU Pueblo at 1 pm and Fort Hays State University at 5 pm on Saturday.

About The Opposition 

Rollins College competed in 10 games last season due to the Covid-19 pandemic where they failed to win a game. In their last full season in 2019, the Tars went 8-23 and 3-17 in the Sunshine State Conference. Rollins is projected to finish 10^th in the SSC.

Chadron College went 4-10 in the 2020 season and 14-12 in the 2019 season. The Eagles went 11-19 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Chadron is projected to finish 12^th in the RMAC.

CSU Pueblo went 14-14 in 2019 and 11-4 in 2020. The ThunderWolves went 20-9 in the RMAC and are projected to finish 5^th in the conference according to the RMAC preseason coaches' poll.

Fort Hays State University went 7-21 in 2019 and went 4-16 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Tigers are projected to finish ninth according to the MIAA preseason coaches' poll. 

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.

#marauders#