ABERDEEN, SD – The University of Mary volleyball team (2-8, 0-2 Northern Sun) hits the road one more time before they host their first home game as they take on Northern State University on Tuesday, September 21, at 6 pm.

Last Time Out

The Marauders were defeated in both of their weekend road games against Minnesota State University – Mankato and #4 Concordia University, St. Paul.

UMary lost 3-0 to MSU. The first set was a close contest, with the Mavericks taking it down 25-22. MSU would continue their momentum as the Mavericks would win the second set 25-17. The Marauders held a 19-18 lead in the third set before MSU won seven out of the next nine points, giving the Mavericks a 25-21 set win.

UMary lost the first set 25-14 to CSP. The Golden Bears continued their great play, winning the second set 25-15. UMary was down 24-11 in the third set before the Marauders were able to rally off six consecutive points as CSP won 25-17.

About The Opposition 

Northern State University has begun the season with a 7-3 record going 2-0 in the NSIC. Sally Gaul leads the Wolves in kills with 142 as the senior has a .280 hitting percentage. Senior Keri Walker leads the NSIC with 407 assists. Junior Olivia Rud is NSU's leader in blocks with 42. Sophomore Havyn Heinz has 162 digs which leads the Wolves.

Stats To Watch

• Kennedy Drewis leads the team with 85 kills and is tied for first with 16 blocks.
• Natalia Cruz is second on the team with 73 kills. She also has 96 digs, nine blocks and six aces.
• Kaia Sueker is the team leader in digs with 162. Sueker is 8^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 4.26.
• Kameron Selvig leads the Marauders in assists with 178 and is second on the team with 12 aces.
• Kaia Lill is second on the team with 99 assists and third with 8 aces. Lill ranks 7^th in the NSIC with 0.43 service aces per set.
• Nehkyah Ellis is tied for first with nine aces and has 95 digs. Ellis is 20^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 2.88.
• Emily Torborg is third on the team with 10 aces. Torborg is 17^th in the NSIC with 0.33 service aces per set.

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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