For Immediate Release
Monday, September 26, 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 4.83 kills and 1.67 blocks per set in NSIC road sweeps at No. 4 SCSU and No. 9 UMD
- Hit .463 for the weekend with 16 kills and eight blocks Friday at SCSU
- Recorded 13 kills, hitting .500, with two blocks Saturday in a 3-0 sweep at UMD

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#18 Maggie Brahmer (MH, 6-0, So., Pierce, Neb. / Pierce HS) - Wayne State
- Averaged a NSIC best 2.17 blocks and added 2.33 kills per set 
- Had three solo and 10 total blocks with seven kills in Friday’s 3-0 sweep at UMD
- Had three blocks and seven kills in Friday’s 3-0 sweep at St. Cloud State
- For the weekend had four solo and nine assisted blocks in just six sets

NSIC Setter of the Week
#5 Teagan Starkey (S, 5-8, So.. Lakeville, Minn. / South HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Averaged a NSIC best 14.17 assists per set (85 total assists) in CSP’s two sweeps 
- Added 3.17 digs per set, 0.83 aces per set and 0.67 blocks per set 
- Picked up her fourth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 13 digs at MSUM 
- Helped the offense to a .313 hitting percentage on the weekend 
- Leads the nation in assists per set
- Named NSIC Setter of the Week for the third time this season (8/29/22 & 9/6/22) 

Other Top Performances
OFFENSE
#8 Jasmine Mulvihill (CSP) led the team with 5.00 kills per set (30 total kills) on the weekend. She added 3.00 digs per set (18 total digs) and 0.50 blocks per set (3 total blocks). She hit .281 or better in both matches, finishing at .292 on 65 swings. She picked up her fifth double-double of the year with 16 kills and 10 digs at MSUM. She ranks second in the NSIC in kills per set (4.55) and points per set (5.15).
#7 Tori Thompson (MSUM) hit .310 (12K/3E/29TA) with two solo blocks and a block assist against Minnesota State. She added a block assist against CSP.
#6 Hailey Wathen (MINOT) came off the bench and finished with a season-high in kills Friday night, then added the second-most kills on the day Saturday for the Beavers.
#9 Meg Schmidt (SMSU) led the Mustangs with 18 kills on a .600 hitting percentage in three-set victories over Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. She did not log an attack error in 30 attacks. She hit .643 with nine kills Friday at UMC and .563 with nine kills Saturday at BSU.
#12 Phebie Rossi (SCSU) finished eighth in the NSIC with 3.92 points/set and 10th in kills/set with 3.33 as SCSU went 1-1 against Wayne State and Augustana. She hit a team-leading .326 while providing steady offense from the middle. She added six blocks on the weekend.
#17 Zoe Semelroth (UIU) led the Peacock offense with 20 kills (3.33/set) in a pair of Peacock sweeps. The sophomore added 6 service aces and 6 blocks in her 6 sets of action.
#21 Sidney Paulson (WSU) collected 23 total kills in wins over UMary & Minot State. She averaged 3.83 kill/set on the weekend. She had a weekend high 14 kills vs. UMary.  She also had 3 assists vs. Minot State. 

DEFENSE
#4 Tea Boeckel (MINOT) had a season-high 14 digs Friday night, taking over as libero in the second set for the Beavers against visiting Winona State. Saturday she added 8 digs against Upper Iowa.
#5 Keely Kurschner (SCSU) tied for the NSIC lead with 5.17 digs/set while adding 0.50 aces/set, seventh in the league. She helped the Huskies go 1-1 against No. 1 Wayne State and Augustana. She anchored a .946 team serve receive.
#3 Kaci Beesecker (UIU) averaged 5.0 digs per set pacing the back line defense against UMary and Minot State in a pair of UIU sweeps. - She added 4 assists and 4 service aces over the weekend as well.
#22 Taylor Pagel (WSU) led the team in blocks with six over two matches. She had five block assists and collected six digs as a middle blocker. She also had three service aces. 

SETTER
#9 Lucia Mercolini (MINOT) making her first collegiate start, turned in a career-high 19 assists Saturday against Upper Iowa. Friday, coming off the bench in the second set and sharing setting duties, she had 8 assists against Winona State.
#18 Emma Berran (SCSU) averaged 9.17 assists/set while guiding the Huskies to a weekend split with Wayne State and Augustana. She directed an offense that terminated 13.67 kills/set, fourth-most in the NSIC.
#10 Nicole Pozorski (UIU) ran the UIU offense to perfection over the weekend assisting on kills for 8 different Peacocks across the team’s sweeps at UMary and Minot State. She handed out 10.67 assists/set (64 total) and added 15 digs, 2 kills, and a service ace.
#14 Rachel Walker (WSC) averaged 11.17 assists per set with four service aces and five blocks in two top 10 NSIC road sweeps over the weekend. She had 38 set assists with three blocks and one service ace in Friday’s 3-0 sweep at #4 SCSU. She added 29 assists, three aces and two blocks Saturday in 3-0 sweep at #9 UMD.
#2 Jaci Winchell (WSU) led the Warrior attack to two NSIC wins over the weekend. She collected 63 assists across two matches. She averaged 10.5 assists per set with a service ace and two kills.
 
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)

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.