Golden Eagle Athletic News
(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Volleyball returns to the comfort of Lysaker Gymnasium this weekend after two weekends on the road for NSIC competition. In the span for four games, the Golden Eagles faced ranked opponents #6 Concordia University, St. Paul, #13 ranked Minnesota State and #3 Southwest Minnesota State. This weekend, all three teams will be looking for their first NSIC victory of the season. UMC hosts Northern State on Friday, October 8 at 7 p.m. and U-Mary on Saturday, October 9 at 4 p.m.
Minnesota, Crookston: The Golden Eagle Volleyball team took on a pair of ranked opponents this weekend in #13 Minnesota State and #3 Southwest Minnesota State. Alexandra Skeeter (OH, 5-10, Fr., Milwaukee, Wis.) and Amanda Swann (OH, 6-0, So, Rochester, Mich.) led the Golden Eagle offense over the weekend with 10 kills each. Shannon Cologna (S, 5-8, Sr., Peoria, Ariz.) led the UMC setters with 23 assists. Chelsea Wiesner (DS, 5-8, Fr., Rochester, Minn.) led the Golden Eagle defense with 21 defensive digs.
Northern State: Konefesi Vaisigano (OH, 5-9, Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS/Casper College) led the NSU offensive effort with 25 total kills and a .225 attacking percentage in the team's two matches on the weekend. Vaisigano tallied 13 kills, 21 digs and three blocks in NSU's dramatic five-set loss to Upper Iowa on Friday. The 21-dig effort marked the third time this season that the junior has gone over the 20-dig mark. Vaisigano returned to the court to register an even dozen kills and a .273 hitting percentage against Winona State on Saturday. Whitney Morsching (MB, 6-1, Sr., Aberdeen, S.D./Central HS) notched a team-best .262 hitting percentage and 11 blocks on the weekend, starting with a 12-kill, 9-blocks effort in Friday's five-set barn burner at Upper Iowa. The senior middle blocker had just 24 total attacks in that match, putting down kills on fully half of those attempts. She also had a trio of service aces and five digs in that match. All told, Morsching tallied 18 kills, three aces, 10 digs and 11 blocks on the weekend.
University of Mary: Laci Murtha (MH, 5-11, Sr., Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson HS) had a tremendous offensive week, reaching double digits in kills in all three games with a high of 20 and an average of 3.75/set while hitting .385. In a 3-0 sweep of Minot State, Murtha rang up 12 kills and hit .450 on the night while adding three block assists. The senior middle followed with 13 kills, six digs and two block assists in a 3-1 loss at Winona State. Murtha closed the week by terminating the ball a season-high 20 times in a 3-2 loss at Upper Iowa. In the match, she hit .436 and made just three errors. Defensively, Murtha picked up six digs and assisted on four blocks. Emily Turkowski (S, 5-9, Fr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) directed the Marauders to one of their best offensive weeks as U-Mary hit .224 over three games, winning one. In a sweep of Minot State, Turkowski registered 38 assists as U-Mary hit .314 on the night, adding five digs. At Winona State, the freshman distributed 40 assists with two kills over four sets. She closed the week with 51 assists, two kills and 11 digs in five sets at Upper Iowa. Kendra Hobbs (DS, 5-4, Sr., Oakdale, MN/Tartan HS) picked up 35 digs on the week to lead the Marauders defensive efforts. After a quiet night with three digs in a sweep of Minot State, Hobbs registered 20 digs in four sets at Winona State. In five sets at Upper Iowa, she picked up another 12 digs. For the week, the senior averaged 2.92 digs/set.
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).
-30-
Minnesota, Crookston: The Golden Eagle Volleyball team took on a pair of ranked opponents this weekend in #13 Minnesota State and #3 Southwest Minnesota State. Alexandra Skeeter (OH, 5-10, Fr., Milwaukee, Wis.) and Amanda Swann (OH, 6-0, So, Rochester, Mich.) led the Golden Eagle offense over the weekend with 10 kills each. Shannon Cologna (S, 5-8, Sr., Peoria, Ariz.) led the UMC setters with 23 assists. Chelsea Wiesner (DS, 5-8, Fr., Rochester, Minn.) led the Golden Eagle defense with 21 defensive digs.
Northern State: Konefesi Vaisigano (OH, 5-9, Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS/Casper College) led the NSU offensive effort with 25 total kills and a .225 attacking percentage in the team's two matches on the weekend. Vaisigano tallied 13 kills, 21 digs and three blocks in NSU's dramatic five-set loss to Upper Iowa on Friday. The 21-dig effort marked the third time this season that the junior has gone over the 20-dig mark. Vaisigano returned to the court to register an even dozen kills and a .273 hitting percentage against Winona State on Saturday. Whitney Morsching (MB, 6-1, Sr., Aberdeen, S.D./Central HS) notched a team-best .262 hitting percentage and 11 blocks on the weekend, starting with a 12-kill, 9-blocks effort in Friday's five-set barn burner at Upper Iowa. The senior middle blocker had just 24 total attacks in that match, putting down kills on fully half of those attempts. She also had a trio of service aces and five digs in that match. All told, Morsching tallied 18 kills, three aces, 10 digs and 11 blocks on the weekend.
University of Mary: Laci Murtha (MH, 5-11, Sr., Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson HS) had a tremendous offensive week, reaching double digits in kills in all three games with a high of 20 and an average of 3.75/set while hitting .385. In a 3-0 sweep of Minot State, Murtha rang up 12 kills and hit .450 on the night while adding three block assists. The senior middle followed with 13 kills, six digs and two block assists in a 3-1 loss at Winona State. Murtha closed the week by terminating the ball a season-high 20 times in a 3-2 loss at Upper Iowa. In the match, she hit .436 and made just three errors. Defensively, Murtha picked up six digs and assisted on four blocks. Emily Turkowski (S, 5-9, Fr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) directed the Marauders to one of their best offensive weeks as U-Mary hit .224 over three games, winning one. In a sweep of Minot State, Turkowski registered 38 assists as U-Mary hit .314 on the night, adding five digs. At Winona State, the freshman distributed 40 assists with two kills over four sets. She closed the week with 51 assists, two kills and 11 digs in five sets at Upper Iowa. Kendra Hobbs (DS, 5-4, Sr., Oakdale, MN/Tartan HS) picked up 35 digs on the week to lead the Marauders defensive efforts. After a quiet night with three digs in a sweep of Minot State, Hobbs registered 20 digs in four sets at Winona State. In five sets at Upper Iowa, she picked up another 12 digs. For the week, the senior averaged 2.92 digs/set.
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).
-30-
