UMC VOLLEYBALL LOSE TWO FIVE SET MATCHES IN HOUGHTON, MI

Minnesota Crookston volleyball suffered a pair of disappointing five-set losses in two match-ups against GLIAC opponents played at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan.

With the first set tied at 2-2, Deaira Gresham (Jr., Maplewood) spiked a kill to give Minnesota Crookston a 3-2 lead and spark a shift in momentum. An attacking error made it 4-2 as the Golden Eagles would string six straight points together capped off by kills from Sydney Kruisselbrink (Jr., Rochester) and Porsha Porath (Soph., Windom) giving UMC an 8-2 lead. Lake Superior State pulled within 10-9 before Gresham buried back-to-back kills to take a 12-9 lead. Later in the set, the Lakers gained momentum and a 19-18 lead after winning three straight points. Porsha Porath connected on a kill tying the set at 19-19 before LSSU won the next two points regaining a 21-19 lead. A service error from Lake Superior State paved the way for Minnesota Crookston to harness control of the set with a pair of aces served by Katie Lienemann (Jr., Rosemount) to help the Golden Eagles close out a 25-21 first set victory.

Lake Superior State jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second set before Minnesota Crookston won five of the next six points capped off by consecutive kills spiked by Deaira Gresham putting UMC in front 8-7. Later in the set, Lauren Wallace (R-Soph., Bloomington), notched two-straight kills to take a 12-9 lead before Porsha Porath joined the attack with two kills of her own to make it 14-10. With the Golden Eagles holding a 17-13 advantage, the Lakers won five straight points to take an 18-17 lead and wouldn’t trail the rest of the set as they closed out a 25-22 win tying the match.

Minnesota Crookston fell behind 11-6 in the third set before winning four straight points including an ace served by Sydney Kruisselbrink bringing Minnesota Crookston within 11-10. Lake Superior State took the next four points to pull ahead 15-10. Later in the set, the Golden Eagles pulled within 21-20 before the Lakers took a 23-20 lead. Deaira Gresham spiked another point for UMC bringing Minnesota Crookston within 23-21. Porsha Porath’s kill made it 23-22 before an attack error by Lake Superior State tied the set at 23-23. Katie Lienemann served an ace for the Golden Eagles to win their fourth straight before another Lakers’ attacking error gave Minnesota Crookston its fifth straight point to win the third set 25-23.

After trailing 4-3 in the fourth set, Lake Superior State took three straight points and never trailed again winning the set 25-21 to force a winner take all fifth set. In the fifth a final set, Kaitlin Sikkink hit a spike to give the Golden Eagles a 6-3 lead before UMC gained an 8-4 advantage. After the Lakers pulled back within 8-4, LSSU took two straight points. A Deaira Gresham kill gave Minnesota Crookston a 10-7 lead. Lake Superior State won five of the next six-point before UMC tied the match at 12-12. The Lakers won the final three points of the match to close out a 15-12 victory in the tie-breaker set. 

For UMC
Kills – Deaira Gresham – 17, Porsha Porath – 16
Blocks – Meli Rodriguez – 3, Kaitlin Sikkink – 3, Lauren Wallace – 2
Assists – Sydney Kruisselbrink – 21, Natalie Koke – 15, Katie Lienemann – 11
Digs – Katie Lienemann – 23, Deaira Gresham – 19, Sydney Kruisselbrink
Aces – Meli Rodriguez – 3, Deaira Gresham – 3, Katie Lienemann – 3

In Minnesota Crookston’s fourth and final match of the weekend, the Golden Eagles battled the Northern Michigan Wildcats in an up and down match. In the first set, the Huskies jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a Lauren Wallace kill gave the Golden Eagles their first point. With NMU leading 12-6, Meli Rodriguez (Sarchi Sur, Costa Rica) provided a kill sparking a three-point run to pull within 12-9, but Northern Michigan kept its distance the rest of the set-closing out a 25-18 win.

In the second set, it was Minnesota Crookston which took an early lead and never looked back. Lauren Wallace earned the first point of the set with a kill to start a 5-0 run to open the frame. That lead grew to 7-2 after a bad set from the Huskies.  With the Golden Eagles leading 13-8, UMC took six of the next seven points capped off by an ace served by Rodriguez giving Minnesota Crookston a 19-9 lead. Northern Michigan pulled within seven, but no further as UMC tied the match winning the second set 25-15.

The Golden Eagles won the first three points of the third set to carry further momentum. Kills from Syndey Kruisselbrink and Porsha Porath pushed Minnesota Crookston’s lead to 6-2.  After Lauren Wallace spiked UMC’s tenth point of the third set, Northern Michigan won five straight points to pull within 10-9. The Golden Eagles answered winning nine of the next ten points gaining a 19-10 lead. Minnesota Crookston cruised the rest of the set to gain a two sets to one lead with a 25-17 third set win.

Minnesota Crookston hoped to avoid their third five-set match of the weekend and started by taking a 3-1 lead in the fourth set thanks to back-to-back aces served by Meli Rodriguez. Lauren Wallace served an ace later in the set to make it 7-4 UMC. With Minnesota Crookston leading 11-8, Northern Michigan won six straight points to take a 14-11 lead. Another 5-0 run made it 19-12 for the Wildcats who would hang on to force the tie-breaker set with a 25-22 win in set four.

Lauren Wallace opened the fifth set with a kill giving Minnesota Crookston a 1-0 win. An attacking error by the Wildcats gave the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead, but Northern Michigan rattled off the next six points to take a 6-2 lead. Following a Minnesota Crookston timeout, Lauren Wallace stopped the bleed temporarily with a kill bringing UMC within 6-3, but Northern Michigan won the next three points to take a 9-3 lead before the Golden Eagles used their final timeout. Kaitlin Sikkink (R-Sr., St. Charles) picked up a much need kill cutting Minnesota Crookston’s deficit down to 9-4. Once again Northern Michigan countered, winning consecutive points to take an 11-4 lead. After the Golden Eagles rallied back to within 12-7, the Huskies closed out the match winning three of the next four points to secure a 15-8 win.

Minnesota Crookston drops to 1-3 and returns to the court next weekend when the Golden Eagles will play four matches over Friday and Saturday in St. Cloud against Wheeling Jesuit, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. 

For UMC
Kills – Porsha Porath – 14, Lauren Wallace – 13, Deaira Gresham – 12
Blocks – Kaitlin Sikkink – 3, Meli Rodriguez – 3
Assists – Sydney Kruisselbrink – 46
Digs – Sydney Kruisselbrink – 13, Katie Lienemann – 12, Lauren Wallace – 11
Aces – Meli Rodriguez – 4, Ali Schueler – 4