(St. Louis, Mo.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston volleyball team opened the University of Missouri-St. Louis Invite today against the University of Illinois-Springfield. The Golden Eagles and the Prairie Stars played to 22 tie scores and 10 lead changes before UIS prevailed 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-21).

UIS opened the first match scoring three unanswered points. UMC rallied back to tie the score at four before the Prairie Stars regained the lead for good to take the first set 25-23. The second set saw the two squad's trade leads all the way to 24-24. Minnesota, Crookston jumped out front on a kill by Alyssa Krikke (MH, 6-0, Sr, Grand Rapids, Mich.) 25-24 but UIS rallied for three unanswered points to take the second set 27-25. In the final set, Krikke used another one of her kills to tie the score at 17. The Prairie Stars again took the lead and held off the Golden Eagles for a 25-21 set and match victory.

The Golden Eagles as a team set several season-highs in the match including kills (35), assists (33), block assists (12) and total blocks (8). Leading the team individually was Danielle Rueter (OH, 5-9, So, Burlington, Wis.) who knocked down 10 kills. Krikke followed with eight kills and a team-high .190 (8K-4E-21TA) attack percentage. Shannon Cologna (S, 5-8, Sr, Peoria, Ariz.) returned from injury to lead UMC with 15 assists. She split time with Kelsey Matykowski (S, 5-7, So, Sun Prairie, Wis.) who earned 10 assists in the match. Chelsea Wiesner (DS, 5-8, Fr, Rochester, Minn.) led all players with four service aces and 20 defensive digs. She is currently tied for first on the team in aces and leads the team in defensive digs.

Illinois-Springfield was led by Courtnee Brown who tallied a match-high 12 kills. Maggie Bee led all setters with 18 assists while Courtnee Kombrink led all players with three solo blocks and Britni Prusa led the Prairie Stars with 18 defensive digs.

The Golden Eagles are 0-5 overall this season. The Prairie Stars advance to 2-3 overall. Minnesota, Crookston returns to the court at 3 p.m. today to take on Southern Indiana. Watch live stats at http://www.goldeneaglesports.com/sports/wvolleyball/schedule.htm.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at: www.goldeneaglesports.com.  

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

Photo: Chelsea Wiesner

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