For Immediate Release
Monday, October 10, 2022
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#13 Taya Beller (MH/RS, 6-2, So., Lindsay, Neb. / Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family HS) - Wayne State
- Averaged an NSIC best 4.50 kills and added 0.70 blocks per set in three NSIC road wins
- Had a career-high 18 kills with a .457 hitting percentage in 3-1 win at Augustana
- Added 15 kills with four blocks in Friday’s 3-0 sweep at Northern State
- Had 12 kills and hit .478 in a 3-0 win at MSU Moorhead Saturday
- She hit .398 in three matches, seventh best in the NSIC last week
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the second time this season (9/26/22)

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#12 Phebie Rossi (MB, 6-2, Sr., Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens HS) - St. Cloud State
- Led the NSIC in both blocks (2.08) and points (5.08) in three matches last week
- Led the league in blocks by over half a block per set and 
- Was the only NSIC player to average 5.0 or more points per set
- Ranked eighth in kills/set (3.54) while hitting .369
- Had nine blocks in each of her three matches
- Anchored a Huskies defense that led the NSIC in blocks/set at 3.08 

NSIC Setter of the Week
#5 Teagan Starkey ( (S, 5-8, So.. Lakeville, Minn. / South HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Averaged 13.38 assists per set (107 total assists) in CSP’s three sweeps on the week 
- Added 1.75 digs per set, 0.38 aces per set and 0.25 blocks per set 
- Guided the offense to a .409 hitting percentage and 15.88 kills per set in her eight sets 
- Leads the nation in assists per set (13.06) 
- Leads the team to a nation-best 15.27 kills per set and .302 hitting percentage 
- Named NSIC Setter of the Week for the fifth time this season (8/29/22, 9/6/22, 9/26/22, 10/3/22) 

Other Top Performances
OFFENSE
#8 Jasmine Mulvihill (CSP) led the team with 4.22 kills per set (38 total kills) in CSP’s three sweeps on the week. She hit .387 with just nine errors on her 75 attempts. She added 2.56 digs per set, 0.56 blocks per set and 0.33 aces per set. She reached double figures in kills while hitting .323 or better in all three matches. She collected her sixth double-double of the year against MSU. She ranks fifth in the nation and first in the NSIC in kills per set (4.55) and points per set (5.19).
#12 Grace Daak (UMD) had an average hitting percentage of .300 across three matches this past week. She recorded 32 total kills (2.91 K/S) and did this against three teams with winning percentages above .500, including #7 St. Cloud State on Tuesday.
#1 Sophie Tietz (MSU) led the NSIC last week with 1.27 service aces per set as she had 14 over the three matches.  She was sixth in the NSIC in points this week with 4.41 per set.  She totaled 28 kills, hitting .257 with 33 digs and 12 blocks.  
#7 Tori Thompson (MSUM) hit .364 with 10 kills against Augustana and .273 with 6 kills vs Wayne State.
#8  Emily Kotelnikoff  (MINOT) led the way in both matches offensively for Minot State, racking up a career-high 14 kills in a thriller against Southwest Minnesota State, then led the way Saturday with 7 kills for the Beavers.
#19 Sally Gaul (NSU) led Northern State versus MSU Moorhead, Wayne State, and Augustana with 30 kills. She recorded a .286 hitting percentage  and added a team high 45 digs, as well as seven blocks and four aces. She hit a week high .542 with 14 kills against the Dragons.
#9 Meg Schmidt (SMSU) was third in the NSIC with 4.08 kills per set (49 total kills) in victories over Sioux Falls, Minot State and UMary. She added 10 blocks, six digs and an ace in the three wins. She recorded the fourth-most kills in an NCAA DII match, and most in the NSIC this season with a career-high 31 against Minot State. She recently became the 16th Mustang to log 1,000 career kills.
#4 Rachel Linsey (SCSU) ranked fifth in the NSIC with 3.85 kills/set while adding 4.15 points/set, good for 10th in the league. Her 50 total kills led the Northern Sun while her 54.0 total points ranked third as SCSU went 2-1 on the week. Linsey double-doubled in each of her three matches.
#16 Madison Larson (WSU) led the Warriors with a .333 hitting percentage across three matches this week. She connected for 32 kills on 78 attempts, while committing just six attacking errors. Averaged 2.91 kills per set across the three matches.

DEFENSE
#9 Hope Schjenken (UMD) had an average of 1.36 blocks per set this past week, good for third in the NSIC in that span. She recorded 15 total blocks. She did this against three teams with winning percentages above .500, including No. 7 St. Cloud State on Tuesday. She racked up five block assists against the Huskies.
#5 Alexandra Koontz (MINOT) proved to be a strong two-way asset for the Beavers on Friday, leading the team with 19 digs while adding 9 kills against Southwest Minnesota State. She then added 4 digs and 4 kills Saturday.
#4 Rylee Vaughn (WSU) led the Warriors with 41 digs across three matches this week. She collected 4.10 digs/set to lead WSU over the week. She recorded a season-high 20 digs in a 3-1 win over Upper Iowa.

SETTER
#7 Madison Gordon (UMD) registered 127 total assists, the most of any player in the NSIC. She tallied these assists on an average of 11.55 assists per set, third in the conference over the week. This is an even higher clip than her season average of 11.25 a/s, which is fourth in the entire NCAA. All of this came against teams with winning percentages above .500, including #7 St. Cloud State on Tuesday. Gordon had 53 assists against the Huskies alone.
#9 Lucia Mercolini (MINOT) had a career-high 26 assists on Friday in a 5-set thriller against Southwest Minnesota State, then led the way again with 12 more assists in Saturday’s match.
#20 Keri Walker (NSU) paced the Northern State offense with 109 assists, averaging 12.11 per set, versus the Dragons, Wildcats, and Vikings. She added 26 digs, seven blocks, and six kills. She tallied a week high 41 assists against the Dragons, averaging 13.67 per set.
#6 Alisa Bengen (SMSU) averaged 11.27 assists per set (124 total assists) in SMSU’s three wins. She added 2.1 digs per set to go along with four blocks and 14 kills on the week. She was the catalyst for a Mustang offense that finished second in the NSIC with a .274 hitting percentage. She led the Mustangs with an all-around performance, collecting 37 assists, nine kills, nine digs, and three blocks in Tuesday’s win over USF.
#18 Emma Berran (SCSU) ranked fifth in the NSIC with 11.10 assists/set...directed the Huskies to a 2-1 week with wins over Upper Iowa and Winona State.
#14 Rachel Walker (WSC) averaged 10.40 assists and 3.50 digs per set in three NSIC road wins. She had two double-doubles during the week. She had 31 assists with 15 digs in a 3-0 win at Northern State Friday. She had 31 assists and 11 digs with two aces in a 3-0 sweep Saturday at MSU Moorhead. She handed out 42 set assists in Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Augustana.
#2 Jaci Winchell (WSU) led the Warrior offense with 103 assists across three matches this week. She averaged 9.36 assists per set, including totaling 40 assists in four sets against SCSU. She collected 30 digs during the week and added a double double against Upper Iowa with 39 assists and 16 digs.

 
NSIC Volleyball Players of the Week
8/29/22
O: #8 Jasmine Mulvihill - Concordia-St. Paul
D: #5 Keely Kurschner - St. Cloud State
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul

9/6/22
O: #18 Maggie Brahmer - Wayne State
D: #2 Erika Bute - Augustana
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul (2)

9/12/22
O: #8 Kenzie Foley - St. Cloud State 
D: #10 Macie Wieman - MSU Moorhead
S: #18 Emma Berran - St. Cloud State

9/19/22
O: #8 Jasmine Mulvihill - Concordia-St. Paul (2)
D: #9 Katie Mattson - Concordia-St. Paul
S: #13 Halle Bemmels - Concordia-St. Paul

9/26/22
O: #13 Taya Beller - Wayne State
D: #18 Maggie Brahmer - Wayne State
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul (3)

10/3/22
O: #8 Jasmine Mulvihill - Concordia-St. Paul (3) 
D: #2 Erika Bute - Augustana (2)
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul (4)

10/10/22
O: #13 Taya Beller - Wayne State (2)
D: #12 Phebie Rossi - St. Cloud State
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul (5)

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 25 team national championships and crowned 96 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.