For Immediate Release
Monday, November 7, 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 4.33 kills and 0.78 blocks per set with .390 hitting percentage over the weekend
- Had 18 kills and three blocks in Friday’s 3-1 win at Minnesota State
- Recorded a career-high 21 kills and hit .436 in come-from-behind 3-2 win at #3 Concordia-St. Paul
- Won its first outright NSIC Volleyball Regular season and first since 2001
- Named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the third  time this season (9/6/22 & 10/10/22)

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#16 Madison Langlie (DS, 5-7, Jr., Fargo, N.D. / Fargo Davies HS) - Northern State
- Led the NSU defense with 41 digs, averaging 5.86 per set
- Recorded a career high 27 digs against Bemidji State
- Added four assists and three service aces

NSIC Setter of the Week
#5 Teagan Starkey (S, 5-8, So., Lakeville, Minn. / South HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Put up 14.33 assists per set (129 total assists) in CSP’s two matches
- Chipped in 1.56 digs per set, 0.44 blocks per set and 0.33 aces per set
- Set a career-high with 71 assists in Saturday’s meeting with WSC
- Made it four straight matches and 10 matches on the year with 50+ assists
- Leads the nation with 12.78 assists per set
- Named NSIC Setter of the Week for the seventh time this season

Other Top Performances
OFFENSE
#17 Emma Schmidt (CSP) led the team with 3.67 kills on the weekend. She hit .284 with 33 kills on 74 attempts. She added 3.00 digs per set (27 total digs) in the two matches. She registered her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season. She ranks seventh in aces per set and 14th in points per set and hitting percentage.
#6 Ally Gruber (UMary) led the Marauders efforts in a 4-set match at No. 5 UMD. She posted 10 kills, two aces and six digs against the Bulldogs. She followed up with six kills and six digs at #8 SCSU.
#5 Taylor Buckley (NSU) led Northern State with 28 kills and a .397 attack percentage. She averaged 4.00 kills per set and added 12 digs and three service aces.
#9 Meg Schmidt (SMSU) averaged an NSIC-best 4.71 kills in a pair of SMSU road wins. She also ranked fifth in the conference with 1.29 blocks per set. She delivered 20 kills and four blocks in a four set win over Upper Iowa on Friday. She closed her weekend with 13 kills and five blocks in a sweep over Winona State on Saturday.
#4 Linsey Rachel (SCSU) broke St. Cloud State’s all-time career kill record with No. 1568 on Saturday against Mary. The record had stood 26 seasons before Rachel eclipsed Cami Selbitschka’s mark. She averaged 3.83 kills/set and added 0.83 aces/set - fifth in the league - while scoring 5.00 points/set, ranking third among NSIC opponents. Linsey was also named NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year for Volleyball on Friday.
#9 Courtney Holsteen (USF) had 25 kills in seven sets to lead USF to another undefeated weekend. She maintained a .409 attacking percentage against Winona State followed by a .393 against Upper Iowa. Jordan Kuper also played a role in USFs success with 21 kills on the weekend with a .615 and .429 attacking percentage. 
#16 Madison Larson (WSU) was a key offensive force for Winona State in their final two matches of the 2022 season. She racked up a team-high 26 kills over two matches. She hit .274 on the weekend and averaged 4.33 kills per set. 

DEFENSE
#6 Ellie Sieling (CSP) led the team with 3.56 digs per set on the weekend. She added a pair of aces and a pair of assists. She tallied 15+ digs for the eighth and ninth times this season. She extended her streak to nine straight matches in double figures in digs and ranks 11th in digs per set and 12th in aces per set in the NSIC. 
#22 Kaia Sueker (UMary) helped the Marauders take No. 5 UMD to four sets. She had 17 digs, 4 assists and 2 aces against the Bulldogs. She finished second in the NSIC this season with 4.70 digs/set.
#5 Sydney Lanoue (UMD) recorded 35 digs across two matches this weekend, averaging five digs a set. That five D/S clip was sixth best in the NSIC over that span. She also added one block and five block assists, good for a rate of 0.86 B/S. She crossed into the top ten in UMD school history in career digs, currently sitting at ninth with 1,281 total. 
#21 Karli Arkell (SMSU) led the NSIC with four solo blocks while finishing second in the conference with 11 blocks and 1.57 blocks per set in a pair of SMSU road wins over the weekend. She helped the Mustangs to a league-best 2.86 blocks per set. She spearheaded a front-line that finished second in the NSIC with a .127 opponent hitting percentage. 
#5 Keely Kurschner (SCSU) averaged 4.50 digs/set as the Huskies held opponents to hit .133, the third-lowest in the league. She was second in the league with 1.17 aces/set, scoring seven times from the service line.
#3 Casey Volkmann (WSU) tallied 20 digs across two matches to averaged 3.33 digs per set.

SETTER
#7 Madison Gordon (UMD) recorded 77 assists across two matches this past weekend, good for a rate of 11 assists per set. The 11.00 assists per set was sixth best in the NSIC for the weekend. She sits at sixth in the country in assists per set with 11.32. She leads an offense that is third in assists per set (13.49) and sixth in kills per set (14.46) nationally. She crossed into the top ten in UMD school history for career assists, sitting at tenth with 2194.
#20 Keri Walker (NSU) dished out 87 total assists on the weekend, averaging 12.43 per set. She paced the Northern State offense to a .297 attack percentage and added 11 digs, six aces, four kills, and two blocks. 
#18 Emma Berran (SCSU) directed the Huskies to hit a league-leading .375 with 15.67 kills/set (2nd in the NSIC) as she dished out 11.50 assists/set. SCSU went 2-0 in their final regular season weekend and saw Linsey Rachel break the program’s all-time kill record.
#14 Rachel Walker (WSC) had two double-doubles, averaging 10.44 assists and 2.78 digs per set in NSIC road wins at Minnesota State and No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul. She had 46 assists, 12 digs and three blocks in Friday’s 3-1 victory at MSU then added 48 assists with 13 digs in Saturday’s come-from-behind 3-2 win at #3 Concordia-St. Paul.
#2 Jaci Winchell (WSU) was the offensive catalyst for Winona State in their final two matches of the 2022 season. She racked up 68 assists over two matches. She averaged 11.33 assists per set.
 
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)

10/17/22
O: #11 Kelsie Cada - Wayne State
D: #2 Erika Bute - Augustana (3)
S: #14 Rachel Walker - Wayne State

10/24/22
O: #5 Sydney Lanoue - Minnesota Duluth
D: #12 Phebie Rossi - St. Cloud State (2) 
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul (6)

10/31/22
O: #18 Maggie Brahmer - Wayne State (2)
D: #2 Erika Bute - Augustana (4)
S: #20 Keri Walker - Northern State

11/7/22
O: #13 Taya Beller - Wayne State(3)
D: #16 Madison Langlie - Northern State
S: #5 Teagan Starkey - Concordia-St. Paul (7)

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.