BISMARCK, ND –The University of Mary volleyball team (3-15, 0-9 Northern Sun) travels to Minot, ND to take on Minot State University (1-18, 1-12 NSIC) on Thursday, October 28, at 7 pm. The Marauders then return home to host Minnesota State University Moorhead (3-18, 3-10 NSIC) on Saturday, October 30, at 6 pm and Northern State University (12-9, 7-6 NSIC) on Tuesday, November 2, at 6 pm.

UMary currently sits in 13^th place in the NSIC.

Alumni Weekend/Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night
The University of Mary volleyball team will host alumni weekend for their game against MSU Moorhead on Saturday, October 30, at 6 pm. The Marauders then host Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night Tuesday, November 2, at 6 pm as UMary takes on NSU.

Ticket Information
Adult tickets are $10 while senior citizen and youth tickets (13-18 years old) are $5. UMary students and faculty with their MCard and youth 12 and younger are admitted free.

Follow Live
Fans unable to attend the event are encouraged to watch all UMary home games live online and free of charge at www.goumary.com/coverage.

Last Time Out
The Marauders completed a weekend sweep over Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston.

Nehkyah Ellis had a double-double against UMC after posting 16 kills and 13 digs while earning three blocks and two aces. Ellis also led the team in kills with 19 against BSU.

Kameron Selvig combined for 90 assists against the Beavers and Golden Eagles. Selvig also had eight digs and four aces against BSU.

About The Opposition 
Minot State University is in 14^th place in the NSIC after posting a 1-18 record overall while going 1-12 in the conference. UMary defeated MSU (3-0) earlier in the season in a non-conference game. The Beavers leading attacker is freshmen Alexandra Koontz, who has 113 kills. Senior Sophia Peterson leads BSU in assists with 287. Freshmen Jenna Pahlen leads the team in blocks with 37. The Beavers leader in digs is freshmen Tea Boeckel who has earned 122.

Minnesota State University Moorhead has gone 3-18 overall while going 3-10 in the NSIC. MSUM currently sits in 12^th place in the NSIC. Junior Amanda Carlson leads the Dragons in kills with 274. Leading the team in assists is freshmen Kelly Klees, who has 317. Junior Elise Bakke leads MSUM in blocks with 52. The Dragons leader in digs is junior Sarah Petbok, who has 315.

Northern State University has started the season with a 12-9 record overall while posting a 7-6 record in the NSIC as they sit in 10^th place in the conference. NSU's leading attacker is senior Sally Gaul, who has 294 kills. Junior Keri Walker sits in second place in the NSIC with 873 total assists. The Wolves leader in digs is sophomore Havyn Heinz, who has 306. Junior Olivia Rude leads the Wolves in blocks with 91, which places her in second place in the NSIC.

Stats To Watch

• Nehkyah Ellis is first on the team in kills with 161. She is second on the team with 216 digs and 21 aces. Ellis is 18^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 2.97.
• Kennedy Drewis is third on the team with 115 kills and 22 blocks.
• Natalia Cruz is second on the team in kills with 136. She also has 162 digs and 18 blocks.
• Kaia Sueker is the team leader in digs with 306. Sueker is 10^th in the NSIC in digs per set with 3.92.
• Kameron Selvig leads the Marauders in assists with 419 and aces with 22. She ranks 14^th in the NSIC in assists per set with 5.37.
• Bailey Harms leads the Marauders in blocks with 40 and has 91 kills.
• Emily Torborg is second on the team with 38 blocks while earning 18 aces.

Coaches
Former assistant coach Abby Pollart is returning to the University of Mary as the new Marauders head volleyball coach. Pollart spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Central Community College (CCC) Raiders in Columbus, NE, from 2019-21. Pollart joined the Marauders as an assistant coach for a season in 2018-19 where she served as recruiting coordinator, oversaw academics, and assisted in fundraising, among other tasks.

Pollart named Bree Ackermann as her assistant coach for the 2021 season. Ackermann competed for four years at Wayne State College from 2014-2017 where she made the NSIC All-Academic Team three times. Playing as a libero/defensive specialist for the Wildcats, Ackermann appeared in 115 games. Ackermann began coaching at Scotus Central Catholic High School in Columbus, NE, where she served as the assistant volleyball coach and head junior varsity coach.

Returning Marauders
Senior Natalia Cruz returns as the Marauders 2021 Northern Sun Player to Watch. Cruz led the team in digs, digs per set, service aces and service aces per set in 2019. Cruz ranked 14th in the NSIC in digs with 3.98 per set.

Other notable returners include seniors Brittany Brusven and Bailey Harms. Bruvsen played in 12 sets in 2019 while recording 37 assists, averaging 3.08 assists per set. Harms was redshirted in 2019, but as a freshman in 2018 she played in 14 matches during her freshman campaign. She recorded 57 kills and 29 blocks. Harms averaged .66 blocks per set which were second on the team.

Junior Nehkyah Ellis returns to the Marauders after playing in 54 sets in 2019. Ellis was 2nd on the team with 1.81 kills per set, had the 2nd highest serve reception percentage of .930, and had 119 digs.

New Faces
Sophomores Laura Petik, Emily Torborg, Kameron Selvig, Reagan Celaya, Olivia Dickerson and Maddie Cooper will all compete in their first full season as a Marauder. They were able to gain valuable experience as they were able to play four games in the spring 2021 season. Cooper was second on the team with 2.33 kills per set in the spring 2021 season and Celaya was third with 2.14 kills per set.

Other new additions include junior Kennedy Drewis who transferred from Iowa Western Community College after previously attending Division I Western Illinois University. Junior Kaia Sueker competed in the Cross Country and Track teams at UMary and was a member of the 2019 NSIC Cross Country Championship Team. Both were able to compete with the Marauders in the spring 2021 season.

The Marauders bring in six new freshmen, bringing new energy and excitement to the team. The freshman includes Kayla Lewinski, Elaina Lubeck, Robi Binagi, Alexandria Harper, Emma Toerber and Chloe Lieser will look to make an impact this season.

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