For Immediate Release
Monday, October 11, 2021
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#3 Maddy Guetter (OH, 5-11, Jr., Wabasso, Minn. / Wabasso HS) - Augustana
- Set a new career-high for kills, recording 34 in a 3-2 win over NSU 
- Set a new school record for most kills in a single match
- Averaged 6.80 kills per set, while having a hitting percentage of .459 for the weekend
- Also had 12 digs during the match to give her a double-double of 34 kills and 12 digs

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#7 Tori Hanson (L, 5-8, Sr., Delano, Minn. / Delano HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Led the team with 53 digs (5.30 per set) over three matches
- Matched the team high with five aces (0.50 per set) while also chipping in eight assists
- Matched her season high with 23 digs against Winona State
- Extended her double-digit digs streak to eight matches 
- Named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row

NSIC Setter of the Week
#14 Rachel Walker (S, 5-9, So., Lincoln, Neb. / Southwest HS) - Wayne State
- Averaged 13.67 set assists and 2.17 digs per set in home sweeps over NSU and MSUM 
- Handed out 44 assists with nine digs in Friday’s win vs. NSU
- Had 38 set assists and four digs in a 3-0 Saturday sweep over MSU Moorhead
- Led team to .313 hitting percentage for the week
- Named NSIC Setter of the Week for the second time this season (9/13/21) 

Other Top Performances
OFFENSE
#1 Sophia Andersen (CSP) led the team with 37 kills (3.70 per set) over the team’s three matches She hit .342 over 73 attempts on the week and added six digs (0.60 per set) and five blocks (0.50 per set). She has reached double figures in kills in four of her last five matches.
#2 Ellie Danielson (MSU) put down 17 kills with a impressive hitting percentage of .516. In the two matches she accounted for 20 total points for the Mavericks. Ellie also, contributed 5 blocks which moves her into 12th in the NSIC with 55 total blocks.
#9 Averey Yaksich (USF) led USF Volleyball to two wins and extended their winning streak to four as she recorded 34 kills on 72 attacks with eight errors for a .361 hitting mark. She finished three services aces, 19 digs and 38 points. Yaksich, who leads the NSIC and ranks in top four nationally with 277 kills and averaged 4.40 kills/set, averaged 5.67 kills per set and 6.32 points per set in sweeps of Mary and Minot State. She had 19 kills and hit  .432 with an assist and 13 digs as well as 19.5 points in Mary. In the win over Minot State, she had 15 kills and hit .286 with three aces while scoring 18.5 points. She is now at 796 career kills - sixth all-time at USF.
#8 Kenzie Foley (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 2-0 weekend and a win over #9 Winona State by averaging 4.67 kills per set and hitting .355 from the outside. She tallied 42 total kills and 29 digs in nine sets over the weekend. She tied her career-high with 25 kills and added 17 digs in a five-set win over #9 Winona State. She hit .348 as a six-rotation player with two aces and four block assists. She recorded a team-leading 17 kills and 12 digs in a four-set win over Upper Iowa with three block assists.
#18 Maggie Brahmer (WSC) averaged 4.00 kills and 1.33 blocks per set in home sweeps over Northern State and MSU Moorhead. She had a .488 attack percentage in two WSC wins. She posted 11 kills and five blocks in Friday’s 3-0 win over Northern State and added 13 kills and three blocks in Saturday 3-0 sweep over MSU Moorhead.
#16 Madison Larson (WSU) attacking efforts were key to a Warrior 2-1 week against three nationally ranked teams, averaging 3.0 kills per set. She had 15 kills vs. #23 Minnesota Duluth, along with four total blocks. She racked up 14 kills vs. #16 SCSU and had 10 kills in a win on the road over #4 Concordia St. Paul.

DEFENSE
#2 Erika Bute (AUGIE) garnered 29 digs between the two wins over the weekend having 14 in the 3-0 win against MSU Moorhead and 15 in the 3-2 win over Northern State.
#4 Linsey Rachel (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 2-0 weekend in NSIC play, including a 3-2 win over #9 Winona State. She averaged 3.11 digs/set with 28 total against the Peacocks and Warriors. She added three block assists and 24 kills. She became the fourth player in program history to join the 1000/1000 club. She recorded her 1000th career kill in Friday’s 3-1 win over Upper Iowa and 1000 digs in Saturday’s win over Winona. She needed just 74/75 matches to reach the milestones, which is the fastest in program history, according to available records. She recorded 18 digs in the 3-2 win against the Warriors and 10 in the win over the Peacocks. She currently ranks 10th all-time in career digs and 11th in career kills.
#15 Madison Rizner (WSU) had a season-high nine total blocks in a win over Minnesota Duluth, the best performance at the net for the Warriors this year. She racked up 18 total blocks for the week to average 1.38 blocks per set. She added 32 kills on the week, including 17 vs. SCSU. 

SETTER
#9 Avery Thorson (AUGIE) accumulated 82 total assists in eight sets helping the Vikings defeat MSU Moorhead (3-0) and Northern State (3-2) over the weekend. She also had eight kills, eight block assists and 17 digs over the two matches.
#5 Krista Goerger (USF) continued her outstanding play in leading USF to two wins against Mary and Minot State. As a result USF has won four straight matches. In the process of the wins, Goerger became USF’s first-ever player to surpass 3,000 assists in her career. In six sets, she had 5 kills and hit. 364 along with 70 assists or 11.67 per set adding 14 digs and seven blocks. She had three kills (.250) with 39 assists and 11 digs with five block assists and 5.5 points in the three-set win over Mary. In that match, she passed 3K in career assists. On Saturday, she had 2 kills (.667) with 31 assists, two service aces, three digs and two blocks.
#14 Maddy Torve(SCSU) led the Huskies to a 2-0 weekend, including a win over #9 Winona State, by averaging 11.11 assists/set. She tallied exactly 100 assists over the weekend, including 53 in the five set win. She recorded 47 assists in the four set win over Upper Iowa with two block assists and seven digs. She piloted the Huskies to a .325 hitting percentage against the Peacocks. Against #9 Winona State, she tallied 53 assists with 12 digs, two block assists and an ace.
#2 Bre Maloney (WSU) racked up 145 assists across three matches, including a career-best 59 against #16 St. Cloud State. She averaged 11.15 assists per set. She reached the 43-assist mark twice, vs. CSP & UMD, as well as 59 vs. SCSU. She had six kills on the week, five vs. UMD. She also accumulated 46 digs for the week. 

NSIC Volleyball Players of the Week
9/7/21
O: #8 Megan Flom  - Winona State
D: #10 Becca Pagel - Winona State
S: #14 Maddy Torve - St. Cloud State
9/13/21
O: #8 Megan Flom  - Winona State (2)
D: #7 Charisma Herr - Upper Iowa
S: #14 Rachel Walker - Wayne State
9/20/21
O: #8 Kenzie Foley - St. Cloud State
D: #12 Phebie Rossi - St. Cloud State
S: #5 Krista Goerger - Sioux Falls
9/27/21
O: #12 Phebie Rossi - St. Cloud State
D: #13 Taya Beller - Wayne State
S: #14 Maddy Torve - St. Cloud State (2)
10/4/21
O: #18 Maggie Brahmer - Wayne State
D: #7 Tori Hanson - Concordia-St. Paul
S: #5 Krista Goerger - Sioux Falls (2)
10/11/21
O: #3 Maddy Guetter - Augustana  
D: #7 Tori Hanson - Concordia-St. Paul (2)
S: #14 Rachel Walker - Wayne State (2)

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 24 team national championships and crowned 81 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.