The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles volleyball team hosted the #8 ranked Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs to finish off the opening weekend of NSIC play as the Mustangs completed a three-set victory (25-13, 25-17, 25-12). “There is not an off night in the NSIC,” said the Golden Eagles Head Coach Sarah Morgan. “There are a lot of top ranked teams in the conference.”
FIRST SET
SMSU got a quick start to the set with the first two points of the match. UMC got their scoring started with a kill from Bailey Schaefer (Fresh. Brandon) kill before two more Mustangs kills and an ace gave them a 5-1 lead early. Natalie Koke (RS Jr. Caledonia, WI) broke up the quick 3-0 Mustangs run with a sneaky second hit kill. “I liked how we came out and attacked them,” said Coach Morgan. “We had a scouting report and when we followed it, we looked pretty good.” But SMSU was too much in the first set as they went on a 15-4 run to make it a 20-6 deficit for the Golden Eagles. UMC tried to make a late push with another kill from Schaefer and one from Lauren Wallace (RS Sr. Bloomington), as well as two Mustang attack errors, but SMSU finished off the set with a big block to win 25-13. “There were times where we got away from that scouting report and they showed why they are a good team,” added Coach Morgan.
SECOND SET
The second set started with UMC gaining an early advantage at 3-1 using a kill from Charlee Krieg (So. Cavalier, ND). The Mustangs answered with the next two points to tie it at 3-3. UMC used the good start to earn a 9-6 advantage using four Mustang errors, a Wallace kill, and an ace from Koke. “We were a little but up and down… there were definitely times where we played really good volleyball and then there were times where we took the foot off the gas pedal,” explained Coach Morgan. “You can’t do that against the NSIC.” Despite the strong play from the Golden Eagles, SMSU flipped the switch in the set, going on a 6-0 run prompting a UMC timeout. The Mustangs continued the run through the timeout, making it a 14-3 run overall as UMC called its second timeout. The second pause seemed to help the Golden Eagles, playing much better going on a 5-1 run of their own. Three more attack errors from SMSU and two more kills from Wallace and Mara Weisensel (So. New Ulm) made it 20-16. The four point deficit is the closest UMC would get in their comeback as the Mustangs finished off the second set on a 5-1 run to win it 25-17. “We have shown that we can do the good things,” added Coach Morgan. “I like our fight and aggressiveness so far this year.”
THIRD SET
Looking to put away the match in three sets, the Mustangs notched the first four points before UMC got on the board with kills from Krieg and Maria Jose Bustos Garcia (Sr. Cartagena, Colombia) that sandwiched another Mustang point to make it 5-2. Then trailing 8-3, UMC made a quick 3-0 run using two kills from Wallace and an ace from Layne Whaley (Fresh. Ashland, NE). Yet, SMSU followed that with a 4-0 run to extend their lead to six. The teams continued to trade small runs, with UMC getting the next three points highlighted by Wallace who added an ace and another kill to her tally. The rest of the third set, the Mustangs showed why they are a highly-ranked team, finishing off the Golden Eagles with a 13-3 run to win the set 25-12. “We have talked about cutting off the big runs because the good teams don’t give you anything for free,” said Coach Morgan. “We have some young players who haven’t played in many NSIC matches because of Covid last year and NSIC matches are no joke. When they get more game experience things will start to click more often.”
UMC falls to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in NSIC play this season. The Golden Eagles will be on the road next week for three matches against #11 ranked Minnesota Duluth on Tuesday, #5 ranked Wayne State on Friday, and Augustana on Saturday.
Southwest Minnesota State has yet to be beaten this season with a 10-0 record overall, and 2-0 in the NSIC.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Southwest Minnesota State | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Minnesota Crookston | 13 | 17 | 12 |
For Minnesota Crookston
Kills- Lauren Wallace- 8, Charlee Krieg- 4, Mara Weisensel- 4
Assists- Natalie Koke- 18
Digs- Bailey Schaefer- 12, Layne Whaley- 6, Madison Klimek- 6
Blocks- Natalie Koke- 3, Maria Jose Bustos Garcia- 2, Mara Weisensel- 2
Aces- Natalie Koke, Lauren Wallace, Layne Whaley- 1 each
