UMC Volleyball Releases 2018 Schedule

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program officially announced their 2018 schedule Wed., May 9. The Golden Eagles will play 28 games on the 2018 season, including 20 games in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and eight non-conference games with tournaments in Kenosha, Wis., and Marquette, Mich. The Golden Eagles will play seven games against teams that finished the season in the final 2017 AVCA Coaches’ Poll.

“We are very excited for the 2018 season, and look forward to playing a high level of competition every weekend,” said Head Coach Sarah Rauen. “Our first two tournaments will prepare us well for the incredible level of talent we will see in NSIC play. We are looking forward to the season and playing in front of our great home crowd.

The Golden Eagles start the season a week earlier than last year due to an earlier pre-season report day. Minnesota Crookston opens the season at the University of Wisconsin Parkside Tournament in Kenosha, Wis., with four games Fri., Aug. 24 and Sat., Aug. 25. The Golden Eagles open the tournament against the host school Wisconsin Parkside Aug. 24 at 1 p.m. The Rangers posted a 13-17 mark on the 2017 season. Wisconsin Parkside is in their first season under Leigh Barea, a former assistant at Jacksonville State University. Minnesota Crookston continues the tournament at 5 p.m. against Purdue University Northwest. The Pride just completed their first season in NCAA Division II, where they posted a 6-25 mark.

The following day, the Golden Eagles get in a match against a familiar opponent as they take on conference rival Bemidji State University Aug. 25 at 9 a.m. in Kenosha, Wis. The pre-season match will be the first of three matches with the Beavers in 2018. The Golden Eagles swept Bemidji State with a 2-0 mark last season. Bemidji State went 3-26 in 2017. Minnesota Crookston will take on Saginaw Valley State University at 3 p.m. Aug. 25. The Cardinals posted a 6-21 record in 2017.

The following weekend Minnesota Crookston will head to the Wildcat Open on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich. The Golden Eagles have visited the Upper Peninsula destination before, competing in the tournament in 2013. Minnesota Crookston opens up play Fri., Aug. 31 at 8 a.m. versus Lake Superior State University. The Lakers posted a 3-22 record in 2017. The Golden Eagles continue play Friday against the host Northern Michigan at 12 p.m. The Wildcats went 21-8 last season under first-year head coach Mike Lozier.

Minnesota Crookston commences Sat., Sept. 1 by facing Northwood University at 8 a.m. in Marquette, Mich. The Timberwolves posted a 14-13 record on the 2017 season. The Golden Eagles wrap up the tournament against Michigan Technological University at 2 p.m. The Huskies were 20-11 in 2017.

The Golden Eagles enter play in the toughest NCAA Division II conference Sept. 6 as they commence their 20-game conference slate. Minnesota Crookston will face St. Cloud State University at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn., at 6 p.m. The Huskies finished 16-14 on the 2017 season, winning their one game with the Golden Eagles, 3-0.

Minnesota Crookston returns to Lysaker Gymnasium Sat., Sept. 8 as they host their conference home opener at 4 p.m. against one of the nation’s top programs in University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs went 26-7 with their season spoiled in the NCAA Central Region Final to defending National Champion Concordia University-St. Paul. UMD finished the season ranked No. 4 nationally.

The Golden Eagles head out on the road for their second meeting with Bemidji State Tues., Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at BSU Gymnasium.

They continue a three-game road stand at Minnesota State University Moorhead Fri., Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn. MSU Moorhead went 9-19 last season with Minnesota Crookston taking their one meeting 3-1.

The Golden Eagles close out their road excursion Sat., Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. against Northern State University. The Wolves ended 2017 ranked No. 12 in the country. Northern State was an NCAA Central Regional participant, finishing the season with a 23-7 mark.

Minnesota Crookston returns to the friendly confines of Lysaker Gymnasium Sept. 21 as they open up a four-game home stand. The Golden Eagles go up against Minot State University at 6 p.m. The Beavers went 5-24 in their first season under Dana Cordova. The Golden Eagles split last season with Minot State.

Minnesota Crookston remains at Lysaker Gymnasium as they face University of Mary Fri., Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. The Marauders finished with an 8-21 mark last season. The Golden Eagles beat U-Mary 3-0 in their one match-up in Bismarck, N.D. U-Mary is under new leadership in 2018 as Korie Lebeda takes over after three seasons as an assistant coach at Black Hills State University.

The Golden Eagles continue their home stand for Homecoming weekend at Minnesota Crookston beginning Fri., Sept. 28. Minnesota Crookston goes up against one of the top programs in the nation in Southwest Minnesota State University at 6 p.m. The Mustangs went 29-4 last season, with their season ended by Minnesota Duluth in the second round at the NCAA Central Regional at their home gym in Marshall, Minn.

The Golden Eagles conclude their four-game run of home games Sat., Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. versus University of Sioux Falls. The Cougars went 15-10 in 2017 as they swept the season series with Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles head back out on the road beginning Fri., Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. against Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Vikings went 23-9 on the season, as they finished the season ranked No. 22 nationally.

Minnesota Crookston treks to Wayne, Neb. Sat., Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. as they take on Wayne State College (Neb.). The Wildcats finished the season with a 19-12 record.

The Golden Eagles return home Tues., Oct. 9 to open a three-game home stand. Minnesota Crookston faces Bemidji State for the third time on the season at 6 p.m.

Minnesota Crookston takes on Minnesota State University Fri., Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Mavericks went 15-13 in 2017.

The Golden Eagles conclude their week at home Sat., Oct. 13 with a 4 p.m. meeting with defending NCAA Division II National Champion Concordia-St. Paul. The Golden Bears finished their National Championship season with a 34-3 mark. Concordia-St. Paul has won nine Division II titles in the last 11 seasons.

Minnesota Crookston hits the road for their final road stand of the season with four games commencing Fri., Oct. 19. The Golden Eagles face Winona State University at 6 p.m. in Winona, Minn. The Warriors went 21-8 last season. They finished the season ranked No. 19 in the nation.

The Golden Eagles take on Upper Iowa University Sat., Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa. Upper Iowa finished the season with a 21-9 mark, one of their best in recent history.

Minnesota Crookston continues the road stand with return trips to U-Mary Fri., Oct. 26 at 6 p.m., and Minot State Sat., Oct. 27 at 2 p.m.

The Golden Eagles conclude the season at home Fri., Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. versus Northern State and Sat., Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. against MSU Moorhead.

Minnesota Crookston enters their second season under Head Coach Sarah Rauen in 2018. Rauen’s squad posted a 7-21 (4-15 NSIC) record in 2017. The Golden Eagles return nine players from last season’s team as they look to continue to show improvement from last season. Minnesota Crookston returns three players with significant starting experience in Callie Schapekahm (Sr., MH, Eagan, Minn.), Ali Schueler (R-Jr., DS/Lib., Howards Grove, Wis.) and Kaitlin Sikkink (R-Jr., RS/MH, St. Charles, Minn.). Deaira Gresham (So., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) also logged significant time as a freshman for Minnesota Crookston. Schapekahm notched 1.28 kills and 0.54 blocks per set as a junior. Sikkink tallied 1.47 kills and 0.59 blocks per set in 2017, while Schueler notched 1.88 digs per set. Gresham tallied 1.57 kills and 1.21 digs per set.

The Golden Eagles also return Sabrina Leuer (R-Jr., OH, Hamel, Minn.) from injury, who looks to factor into the lineup for Minnesota Crookston. Sydney Kruisselbrink (So., S, Rochester, Minn.) and Katie Lienemann (So., DS/Lib., Rosemount, Minn.) saw limited time in their first seasons with the squad, while Lauren Wallace (R-So., MH/OH, Bloomington, Minn.) and Alyssa Thomas (R-So., OH, Marion, Iowa) sat out last season. All four players look to push to see the court this season. The Golden Eagles currently have two players set to join the squad in 2018 with Porsha Porath (Fr., OH, Windom, Minn.) and Hannah Stark (Fr., OH, Esko, Minn.).

2018 Volleyball Schedule

8/24/2018	UW- Parkside	Kenosha, WI	1:00pm
8/24/2018	Purdue Northwest	Kenosha, WI	5:00pm
8/25/2018	Bemidji State University	Kenosha, WI	9:00am
8/25/2018	Saginaw Valley State	Kenosha, WI	3:00pm
8/31/2018	Lake Superior State University	Marquette, MI	9:00am (EDT)
8/31/2018	Northern Michigan University	Marquette, MI	1:00pm (EDT)
9/1/2018	Northwood University	Marquette, MI	9:00am (EDT)
9/1/2018	Michigan Tech University	Marquette, MI	3:00pm (EDT)
9/6/2018	St. Cloud State University	St. Cloud, MN	6:00pm
9/8/2018	University of Minnesota Duluth	Crookston, MN	4:00pm
9/11/2018	Bemidji State University	Bemidji, MN	6:00pm
9/14/2018	Minnesota State Moorhead	Moorhead, MN	6:00pm
9/15/2018	Northern State University	Aberdeen, ND	3:00pm
9/21/2018	Minot State University	Crookston, MN	6:00pm
9/22/2018	University of Mary	Crookston, MN	2:00pm
9/28/2018	Southwest Minnesota State (Homecoming)	Crookston, MN	6:00pm
9/29/2018	University of Sioux Falls (Homecoming)	Crookston, MN	4:00pm
10/5/2018	Augustana University	Sioux Falls, SD	6:00pm
10/6/2018	Wayne State	Wayne, NE	1:00pm
10/9/2018	Bemidji State University	Crookston, MN	6:00pm
10/12/2018	Minnesota State Mankato	Crookston, MN	6:00pm
10/13/2018	Concordia St. Paul	Crookston, MN	4:00pm
10/19/2018	Winona State University	Winona, MN	6:00pm
10/20/2018	Upper Iowa University	Fayette, IA	3:00pm
10/26/2018	University of Mary	Bismarck, ND	6:00pm
10/27/2018	Minot State University	Minot, ND	2:00pm
11/2/2018	Northern State University	Crookston, MN	5:00pm
11/3/2018	Minnesota State Moorhead	Crookston, MN	2:00pm