UMC VOLLEYBALL GETS FIRST WIN OF SEASON OVER MINOT STATE

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Volleyball team traveled to Minot State to play an NSIC foe in non-conference play and walked out of the Minot Dome with a 3-0 win (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) for their first victory of the season.

FIRST SET

UMC jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead. The teams then alternated the next nine points before the Beavers finally got back-to-back points to tie the set at 7-7. UMC used a service error and kill from Maria Bustos Garcia (Sr. Cartagena, Colombia) to gain back a 10-8 lead. Minot State bounced back with three straight kills to take their first lead of the set. Trailing 12-11, the Golden Eagles went on a 10-0 run, highlighted by Lauren Wallace’s (RS Sr. Bloomington) two aces, two kills, and two assists. Continuing the back-and-forth, Minot State answered back with a 6-0 run to cut it to 21-18 aided by four UMC errors. Wallace got two more of her set-high five kills in the final run to give UMC a first set victory, 25-22.

SECOND SET

UMN Crookston fell behind quickly 0-2 but then went on a 6-1 run to take a 6-3 lead after a few Beavers’ errors and another Wallace kill. The Golden Eagles continued to play well, increasing their lead to 11-6 after a Charlee Krieg (So. Cavalier, ND) ace that made Minot State use a timeout. After the timeout, the Golden Eagles got two more points on a kill and a Beavers attack error. After the Beavers landed a kill, UMC went back on a 4-0 run to strengthen their lead to 17-7. Minot State answered back again with a 3-0 run, but that was stopped quickly by another Krieg kill. Minot State continued to battle back and got within one point at 21-20 after a long rally went their way. The Golden Eagles did not surrender the lead, however, as they finished off the second set with a Mara Weisensel (So. New Ulm) kill and a Minot State service error to win 25-22.

THIRD SET

UMN Crookston jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in set three with behind a lift on the Beavers and a Bustos Garcia kill. Minot State got the next two points, but the Golden Eagles went on another big run using a Beavers infraction, back-to-back kills from Krieg, an attack error, and a Layne Whaley (Fresh. Ashland, NE) ace forcing a Minot State timeout. After the break, Whaley notched another ace before serving into the net to stop the at 6-0. The Golden Eagles used those early runs to create the distance and they maintained that distance the rest of the set as Minot State did not get closer than four points the rest of the way with UMC taking the third set 25-19.