For Immediate Release
Monday, Oct. 13, 2014
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release
NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#14 Mariah Scharf
OH, 5-10, Jr.,
Loretto, Minn.
Orono HS
Minnesota Duluth
Scharf led the Bulldog offense hitting .418 for the weekend with 28 kills (4.67 per game) in a pair of three-set sweeps over Minnesota State and No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul. She knocked down 17 kills on 31 swings with just one error, which came late in the third set against Minnesota State. She added 11 kills against the seven time defending national champions. Scharf added a pair of digs and played part in two blocks on the weekend.
NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#11 Amanda Weiss
L, 5-7, Sr.,
West Bend, Wis.
Kettle Moraine Lutheran HS
Upper Iowa
Weiss led the NSIC with 59 digs (6.56/set) as the Peacocks pick up wins at BSU and UMC. She recorded 30 digs in a 3-1 win at Bemidji State and 29 digs in a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Minnesota Crookston. Weiss added 6 assists and a pair of service aces on the weekend. She currently ranks fifth in the NSIC in digs/set with 4.75.
NSIC Setter of the Week
#8 Ashley Hinsch
S, 5-10, Jr.,
Zumbrota, Minn.
Zumbrota-Mazeppa HS
Minnesota Duluth
Hinsch averaged 14.00 assists per game (84 in total) in a pair of three-set sweeps over Minnesota State and No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul, directing a UMD offense that hit .314 on the weekend She added three kills and a block to her 44 assists against Concordia-St. Paul. Her 14.00 aps led the NSIC by over two per set. For the weekend, Hinsch had three kills, 11 digs, and one block to add to her setting statistic. This marks the fourth time this season Hinsch has been named NSIC Setter of the Week.
2014 NSIC Volleyball Weekly Notes
Augustana Vikings (14-4, 7-3 NSIC)
www.goaugie.com
Ashley Buckley • Penn State ‘05
7th Season
2013 Record: 22-8, 14-6 NSIC (t-4th)
#9 Courtney Ysker (OH, 5-9, Sr, Windom, Minn., Windom Area)
- Team-best 13 kills in 3-0 victory over Minot State
- Eight kills against U-Mary
- 5th in NSIC, averages 3.93 kills per set
- Averages 2.94 digs per set
#15 Alex Banker (S, 5-8, Fr, Omaha,Neb./ Skutt Catholic)
- Recorded a season-best and team-best 22 assists against Minot State
- Averages 2.76 assists per set
#7 Tahlyr Banks (DS, 5-7, Fr, Omaha, Neb. /Gross Catholic)
- Recorded 20 digs in 3-0 win over Minot State
- Team-best 13 digs against U-Mary
- 4.78 digs per set placing fourth in Conference for digs/set
Bemidji State Beavers (3-15, 1-9 NSIC)
www.bsubeavers.com
Wayne Chadwick • Wisconsin-Whitewater ‘88
5th Season
2013 Record: 6-22, 2-18 NSIC (15th)
#1 Rachel Craig (MB, 6-0, Sr., Wadena, Minn.)
- Was second on the team with 15 kills last week versus Upper Iowa and Winona State (2.14 kill/set)
- Led the team with .387 hitting percentage
- Registered five blocks, which was second on the team
- Also notched a pair of digs in the two matches
#3 Courtney Volkmann (S, 5-7, Sr., Wadena, Minn.)
- Collected 54 assists (7.71 assists per set) last week against Upper Iowa and Winona State
- Posted a double-double in each match with 34 assists and 10 digs against UIU and 20 assists with 10 digs against WSU
- Finished with 10 kills (1.43 kills/set) and 20 digs (2.86 digs/set)
-Led the team with four service aces
#2 Kayla DeJong (DS, 5-8, Jr., Jefferson, Wis.)
- Had 40 digs in two matches
- Averaged 5.40 digs per set
- Also had 10 assists with one service ace
Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (15-3, 8-2 NSIC)
www.cugoldenbears.com/
Brady Starkey • Metropolitan State ‘02
11th Season
2013 Record: 35-3, 19-1 NSIC (1st)
#14 Anna Schlaak (OH, 5-9, Jr., New Richland, Minn. / NRHEG HS)
-led the Golden Bears with 35 digs (5.00) as the Golden Bears split with SCSU and UMD
-committed just one receive error to finish with an impressive .981 receive percentage
-also ranked second one the team with 23 kills (3.29 per set) in the two matches
-had a double-double with 15 kills and a career-high 22 digs against SCSU with a perfect 1.000 receive percentage on 34 attempts
-CU knocked off SCSU in four sets on Friday before being swept by UMD
-Concordia out-hit their opponents .238 to .201
-Kasey Williams had 76 assists (10.86 per set) and 21 digs (3.00 per set) on the weekend
-Riley Hanson led the offense with 24 kills (3.43 per set) along with a .339 hitting percentage
University of Mary Marauders (3-16, 0-10 NSIC)
www.goumary.com
Thais Franca
1st Season
2013 Record: 4-23, 1-19 NSIC (16th)
#20 Lauren Randall OH (5-9, Fr., Burnsville, Minn., Burnsville HS) -Led the Marauder attack with 15 kills on 44 attacks in two matches for 2.50 kills/set -Earned three aces in the match against #19 Augustana -Contributed to the defense with 19 digs and three block assists in two matches -Was one kill shy of her third double double of the season against Augustana
#3 Janell Finkbeiner S (5-8, So., Ramsey, Minn., Elk River HS) -Directed the offense with 36 assists in two matches for 6 assists/set -Had a hand in the defense with 13 digs in two matches -Finished with 21 assists against #19 Augustana, her seventh game on the season with 20+ assists
#2 Alex Brown DS (5-4, So., Coon Rapids, Minn., Blaine HS) -Anchored the defense with 30 digs in two matches for 5 digs/set -Was active in the offense with 5 assists and two aces in two matches -Registered 16 digs in the match against #19 Augustana, her fourth game in a row with 10+digs
Host MSU-Moorhead on Tuesday, Oct. 14 before heading out on the road against #2 Minnesota Duluth on Friday, Oct. 17, and St. Cloud State on Saturday, Oct. 18.
-U-Mary is 0-12 all-time vs. MSU-Moorhead -U-Mary is 0-9 all-time vs. Minnesota Duluth -U-Mary is 3-7 all-time vs. St. Cloud State
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (8-10, 2-8 NSIC)
www.goldeneaglesports.com
Lee Anderson • University of Ottawa ‘98
8th Season
2013 Record: 15-14, 10-10 NSIC (t-7th)
Brittany Looker (Sr., OH, Rochester, Minn.) - Looker averaged 4.38 kills per set on the weekend in losses to Winona State University (3-0) and Upper Iowa University (3-2). Looker tallied 23 kills against Upper Iowa, the sixth match this season in which she has had 20 or more kills. Looker tallied 18 digs against Upper Iowa, as well, to complete the double-double.
Mary Mikutowski (Sr., Lib., Rochester, Minn.) - Averaged 6.5 digs per set in the six sets in which she played libero on the weekend. Mikutowski tallied a career-high 32 digs in the 3-2 loss to Upper Iowa University. Against Winona State, Mikutowski came off the bench and had seven digs in the third set, giving UMC a shot in the third set against the Warriors.
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (17-1, 10-0 NSIC)
www.umdbulldogs.com
Jim Boos • UW–Oshkosh ‘94
13th Season
2013 Record: 33-3, 18-2 NSIC (2nd)
#14 Mariah Scharf (OH, 5-10, Jr., Loretto, Minn./Orono H.S.)
- Led the Bulldog offense hitting .418 for the weekend with 28 kills in a pair of three-set sweeps (4.67 per game) over Minnesota State and No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul
- Knocked down 17 kills on 31 swings with just one error late in the third set against Minnesota State
- Added a pair of digs and played part in two blocks on the weekend
#9 Julie Rainey (Lib, 5-9, Sr., Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville H.S.)
- Hauled in 26 digs on the weekend in a pair of three-set sweeps, good for a 4.33 per-set average
- Led the Bulldogs with 18 digs without a reception error over No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday afternoon
- Added four assists and one service ace to her defensive stats
#8 Ashley Hinsch (S, 5-10, Jr., Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa H.S.)
- Averaged 14.00 assists per game (84 in total) in a pair of three-set sweeps over Minnesota State and No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul, directing a UMD offense that hit .314 on the weekend
- Added three kills and a block to her 44 assists against Concordia-St. Paul
- For the weekend, had 3 kills, 11 digs, and one block to add to her setting statistics
Minnesota State Mavericks (11-6, 7-3 NSIC)
www.msumavericks.com
Dennis Amundson • St. Cloud State ‘69
10th Season
2013 Record: 13-15, 8-12 NSIC (t-9th)
Krista Hassing (MB, 6-0, Sophomore, Blue Earth, Minn. / Blue Earth)
- 26 kills; 3.71 k/s
- .371 attack percentage
- 8 total blocks
- 3 digs
Haley Fogarty (DS, 5-8, So., Belle Plaine, Minn./ Belle Plaine)
- 27 digs; 3.86 dig/s
- 6 assists
- 1 service ace
- 1 kill
Ellie Van De Steeg (S, 5-9, Jr., Hutchinson, Minn./ Hutchinson)
- 81 assists; 11.5 a/s
- 3 kills
- 2 service aces
- 17 digs
- 2 total blocks
-Mavericks stand at 11-6 overall and 7-3 in conference after going 1-1 this past week. MSU lost to Minnesota Duluth on Friday before beating St. Cloud State on Saturday.
-Minnesota State will play host to three NSIC matches this week, as it will take on Upper Iowa on Tuesday before Wayne State and Augustana come to town this weekend.
MSU Moorhead Dragons (7-111, 2-8 NSIC)
www.msumdragons.com
Tammy Kath-Blake • South Dakota ‘89
20th Season
2013 Record: 15-13, 8-12 NSIC (t-9th)
Kaitlin VanWinkle (MB, 5-11, Jr., Farmington, Minn./Lakeville South HS)
-Led the Dragons with 20 kills in two matches this week
-Hit .400 in 20 attack attempts against Sioux Falls
-Recorded eight total blocks during the week
-Added one service ace
Katie Meyers (L/DS, 5-2, So., Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South HS)
-Posted 21 digs in two matches to lead MSUM
-Averaged 3.5 digs per set
Sam Sullivan (S, 5-11, Sr., Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury HS)
-Led the Dragons’ two setter attack with 29 assists
-Averaged 4.83 assists per set
-Added two service aces and 11 digs in two matches
Minot State Beavers (4-14, 2-8 NSIC)
www.msubeavers.com
Travis Ward • Western Oregon
3rd Season
2013 Record: 12-18, 7-13 NSIC (13th)
- Minot State faced a strong test this past weekend when they welcomed in two nationally ranked opponents to the Minot State Dome. In the first match of the weekend on Friday night, the Beavers dropped a match in straight sets to No. 16 Augustana College. The Beavers never got closer than 25-20 and dropped the final two sets of the match by scores 25-18 and 25-16. Saturday afternoon proved to be more of the same for Minot State when Wayne State College visited the MSU dome. The Wildcats put the Beavers away in three sets just like the Vikings did. Minot State compiled a .050 hitting percentage in the second game of the weekend.
- #4 Jen Dixon ((OH, 5-9, Sr., Brandon, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) did what she could in both matches for the Beavers to try and keep the matches close. Dixon was the only Beaver to reach double-digit kills against Augustana (10) and was one of two Beavers with a hitting percentage over .200. Saturday afternoon, Dixon recorded eight kills in the second set of the match alone against Wayne State, but once again her effort proved to be not enough against the powerful Wildcats. Dixon finished the match with 12 total kills.
- #18 Cindy Pelo (L, 5-6, Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho/Skyline) provided a strong defensive performance against two aggressive teams this past weekend. In the Beavers’ match against Augustana the junior libero was the only Beaver to record double-digit digs (10). In another three set match against Wayne State, Pelo showed an even stronger effort when she recorded a game-high 15 digs in the contest.
- Minot State will once again be tested this week beginning with a home match against Northern State Tuesday night in the MSU Dome. This upcoming weekend the Beavers will travel to St. Cloud State in their first match of the weekend. The Beavers will then hit the road to wrap up their weekend and face Minnesota-Duluth, arguably the best team in the nation on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Northern State Wolves (12-6, 5-5 NSIC)
www.northernstatewolves.com
Brent Aldridge • South Dakota ‘92
4th Season
2013 Record: 22-8, 14-6 NSIC (t-4th)
- Northern travels for three road matches this week
- The Wolves are 1-4 in road matches this season
- NSU is coming off its first two home defeats of the season this past weekend.
Sioux Falls Cougars (11-9, 5-5 NSIC)
www.usfcougars.com
Joel McCartney • Graceland College ‘87
4th Season
2013 Record: 19-12, 10-10 NSIC (t-7th)
#8 Emily Johnson (OH, 5-11, Sr., Platte, S.D./ Platte-Geddes HS)
- Led Cougars with 39 kills (4.88/set) in 2-0 weekend
- Johnson’s 26 kills in upset of No. 24 Northern State tied her previous career-high and set a new season-best
- Finished weekend with .280 attack percentage on team-leading 100 attempts
- Tallied 13 kills in sweep of MSU Moorhead, hitting .385
- Recorded 26 digs, finishing with two double-doubles to raise her season total to five
- posted two block assists in both matches and an ace in each to finish with 43 total points on the weekend
#9 Kayla Crane (S, 5-8, Fr., Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS)
- Led USF with 82 assists (10.25/set), helping to 2-0 record
- Dished out career-best 48 assists in upset of No. 24 Northern State
- Posted 34 assists (11.33/set) in sweep of MSU Moorhead
- Picked up 16 digs in win over NSU to record her third double-double of the season
- Added five kills without an error to hit .417 over the weekend
#5 Abby Folk (L, 5-8, So., Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS)
- Led Sioux Falls with 46 digs (5.75/set) in 2-0 weekend
- Recorded career-high 31 digs (5.20/set) in upset of No. 24 Northern State
- Posted 15 digs (5.0/set) in sweep of MSU Moorhead
- Has reached double-digit digs in 10 straight matches and 13 overall this season
- Added seven assists and two service aces in the match
Sioux Falls (11-9, 5-5 NSIC) recorded two big wins to open a five-match road trip, including a five-set comeback victory over No. 24 Northern State. After dropping the first two sets against the Wolves on Friday night, USF surged back behind Emily Johnson’s career-best 26 kills to upset NSU. Kayla Crane dished out a career-best 48 assists and Jordan Calef pitched in on offense with 10 kills. Four Cougars reached double figures in digs, led by Abby Folk’s career-high 31. Sioux Falls then avoided a letdown the following evening by sweeping MSU Moorhead for their third straight win. Kart Heart tallied 14 kills with just one error to finish with a .500 attack percentage and Johnson and Crane posted double-doubles with 10-plus digs and double-digit kills and digs, respectively. The Cougars stay on the road, taking on Augustana at 7 p.m. tomorrow night then heading to Winona State and Upper Iowa on Friday and Saturday.
SMSU Mustangs (13-5, 8-2 NSIC)
www.smsumustangs.com
Terry Culhane • Southwest Minnesota State ‘78 11th Season
2013 Record: 24-8, 17-3 NSIC (3rd)
#7 Eisha Oden (OH/MB, 5-11, RFr., Marshalltown, Iowa / Marshalltown)
-Racked up 26 kills on the weekend while hitting a team best .553
-Talled seven blocks with a pair being solo
-Recorded weekend high 14 kills versus Northern State and hit a season-best .667
-Leads teams in blocks with 47
-Leads conference in blocks per game (1.27)
#6 Megan Larson (S, 5-9, Fr. Minneota, Minn./Minneota)
-Dished out 58 assist in past weekend matches
-Added a pair of blocks
-Split matches with 29 assists in each
-Racked up 421 assists with a 6.68 assist/set average
-Helped power the SMSU offense to hitting .324 over the weekend
#3 Whitney Burmeister (OH, 5-9, Jr., Lakefield, Minn./Jackson Country Central)
-Tallied 37 digs over the weekend
-Weekend high 21 digs at MSU Moorhead
-Leads team with 244 digs and a 3.87 dig/set average
-Assisted in Southwest Minnesota State in earning a pair of sweeps over weekend
SMSU will travel to Wayne State Tuesday before heading to Upper Iowa and Winona State next weekend. SMSU is on a six game winning streak/sweeping streak. Have not lost a set since Sept. 23.
St. Cloud State Huskies (7-11, 1-9 NSIC)
www.scsuhuskies.com
Marci Taumalolo • Minnesota ‘07
1st Season
2013 Record: 14-14, 8-12 NSIC (t-9th)
- The Huskies are coming off of two NSIC losses against Concordia-St. Paul (0-3) and Minnesota State (1-3).
- SCSU is 7-11 overall and 1-9 in the NSIC.
- Erin Ohlemann (Golden Valley, Minn.) has totaled 623 assists this season, averaging 10.21 assists per set. This ranks Ohlemann sixth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
- Brianne Stamer (Hutchinson, Minn.) recorded 314 digs this season, averaging 5.15 digs per set, ranking Stamer second in the NSIC.
- Offensively, Kaitlin Doughty (Tomahawk, Wis.) leads the Huskies in kills with 158, averaging 2.59 kills per set.
- Kellan Flynn (Tomahawk, Wis.) has recorded a team-high 47 blocks.
- The Huskies hold a .194 attack percentage as a team, averaging 12.85 kills per set, and rank 11th in the conference.
Upper Iowa Peacocks (10-8, 5-5 NSIC)
www.upperiowaathletics.com
Aaron Nelson • St. Cloud State ‘99
4th Year
2013 Record: 8-22, 4-16 NSIC (14th)
Hailey Brown (S, 5-11, Sr., Elroy, Wis., Royall HS)
- Recorded 51 assists (5.7/set), 34 digs (3.8/set) and 29 kills (3.22) to lead UIU to a pair of NSIC road wins
- Hit .377 with only 3 attack errors in nine sets and added 5 blocks (.6/set)
- Posted a pair of triple-doubles to bring her season total to 6
- Had a monster match at Minnesota Crookston with 19 kills, 34 assists, and 17 digs
Amanda Weiss (Lib., 5-7, Sr., West Bend, Wis., Kettle Moraine Lutheran HS)
- Led the Peacock defense with 59 digs (6.56/set)
- Added 6 assists and a pair of service aces
- Recorded 30 digs versus Bemidji State and 29 digs against Minnesota Crookston
- Currently 5th in NSIC in digs/set with 4.75
- UIU won a four-set match at Bemidji State on Friday night and rallied from a 2-0 deficit at Minnesota Crookston to win a five-set thriller
- Recorded 178 digs for a 19.8 average per set led by Amanda Weiss’s 59 (6.56/set)
- Registered 18 team blocks (4 solo, 28 assisted) led by Haylie Franklin’s 13
- Jennifer Mundt added 26 kills, while Alisha VanderWoude and Tyann Caspers posted 16 and 13, respectively
- Peacocks are on the road Tuesday at Minnesota State before returning to Dorman Gym for Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls on Friday and Saturday
Wayne State Wildcats (16-2, 9-1 NSIC)
www.wscwildcats.com
Scott Kneifl • Wayne State College ‘95
10th Season
2013 Record: 22-10, 12-8 NSIC (6th)
#12 Elizabeth Gebhardt, 6-2 Jr. RS Norfolk, Neb. (Lutheran High Northeast HS)
- Averaged 3.50 kills, 2.00 digs and 1.00 blocks per set in NSIC road sweeps at Mary and Minot State
- had match-high 13 kills hitting .650 in 3-0 win at Minot State Saturday.
- eight kills with seven digs and four blocks in 3-0 win at Mary Friday night.
#7 Leisa McClintock, 5-7 Jr. Sioux City, Iowa (Bishop Heelan HS)
- averaged 10.00 assists and 1.33 kills per set in road sweeps at Mary and Minot State
- had 31 assists vs. Mary and 29 assists vs. Minot State
#16 Alex Opperman, 5-11 Soph. MB Omaha, Neb. (Gross Catholic HS)
- had 10 blocks in two matches, averaging 1.67 blocks per set vs. Mary and Minot State
- had five blocks vs. Mary and another five blocks with one solo block vs. Minot State.
Winona State Warriors (13-3, 8-2 NSIC)
www.winonastatewarriors.com
Joe Getzin • George Williams ‘86
1st Season
2013 Record: 11-18, 8-12 NSIC (t-9th)
#2 Taylor Goar (OH, 6-0, Rf., Champlin, Minn.)
- led her team to a pair of 3-0 sweeps.
- totaled 27 kills with 16 digs, two service aces and just three errors while hitting .444 in victories over Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.
- Friday against Minnesota Crookston, the redshirt freshman hit for an outstanding .520 percentage while racking up 15 kills and committing just two errors in a 3-0 win. She also contributed seven digs to the defensive effort while also scoring a service ace.
- Goar followed up her impressive performance Friday with another on Saturday, tallying 12 more kills with just one error to hit .379 on the day. She also added another service ace to her season total that puts her sixth in the NSIC.
#8 McKenna Larsen (S, 5-7, Fr., Oconto Falls, Wis.)
- McKenna Larsen continued her solid freshman season as the Warriors’ setter racking up 70 assists along with 13 kills in a pair of 3-0 sweeps of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.
- Larsen dished out a match-high 45 assists Friday against the Golden Eagles, helping set up an impressive performance by outside hitter Taylor Goar.
- Also recorded a match-high 25 assists the following afternoon against Bemidji State to go with eight kills in another 3-0 victory.
Winona State (13-3, 8-2 NSIC) takes its three-game winning streak to Concordia-St. Paul to face the Golden Bears Tuesday in the first of three matches this week. The Warriors are back at home this weekend for a pair of matchups against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.
Past NSIC Players of the Week
9/8/14
Off: Brittany Looker, UMC
Def: Tahlyr Banks, Augie
Set: Hailey Brown, UIU
9/15/14
Off: Monica Turner, UMD
Def: Brianne Stamer, SCSU
Set: Ashley Hinsch, UMD
9/22/14
Off: Monica Turner, UMD (2)
Def: Julie Rainey, UMD
Set: Ashley Hinsch, UMD (2)
9/29/14
Off: Riley Hanson, CU
Def: Julie Rainey, UMD (2)
Set: Ashley Hinsch, UMD (3)
10/6/14
Off: Jennifer Mundt, UIU
Def: Julie Rainey, UMD (3)
Set: Leigh McClinton, WSC
10/13/14
Off: Mariah Scharf, UMD
Def: Amanda Weiss, UIU
Set: Ashley Hinsch, UMD (4)
The 2014 NSIC regular season champion will be determined by the 20-game conference schedule. The top eight teams will play in the single elimination
NSIC/US Bank Volleyball Tournament on November 11, 14-15. Quarterfinals will be hosted on campus by the top four seeds while the semifinals and championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following the first round of play.
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