For Immediate Release
Monday, September 11, 2023
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#8 Kenzie Foley (OH, 6-1, Sr., Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) - St. Cloud State
- Earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Up North Tournament 
- Terminated 74 kills at a 4.93 per-set clip while hitting a red-hot .340 
- Added 53 digs for 3.53 per set
- Posted three double-doubles including her first 20-20 effort of the season
- Become the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills
- Provided 5.50 points a set by adding four aces and eight blocks
- Led the NSIC in kills and points 82.5 points

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#3 Abby Meister (L, 5-6, So., Sioux Falls, S.D. / Harrisburg HS) - Northern State
- Led the NSIC with 102 digs, averaging 6.80 digs per set
- Racked up a season high 41 digs against Texas A&M Kingsville, averaging 8.20 per set
- Added four assists, four aces, and two kills
- Named to the Black Hills All-Tournament Team
- Leads the NSIC in total digs (184) and digs per set (6.34)

NSIC Setter of the Week**
#5 Teagan Starkey (S, 5-8, Jr., Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South HS) – Concordia-St. Paul
- Colorado Premier Challenge Most Valuable Player
- Averaged 12.11 assists per set as CSP defeated the No. 1, 3 and 22-ranked teams in the country
- Had a pair of double-doubles with 59 assists and 15 digs against No. 1 West Texas A&M 
- Added 68 assists and 13 digs against No. 3 Wayne State in the championship
- Topped 40 assists in all four matches
- The 68-assist performance is an NCAA Division II single-match high on the season
- Directed a team offensive attack that hit .277 against elite competition
- Leads Division II with 12.77 assists per set on the season, with CSP ranking fifth in the nation in team hitting (.295) and sixth in kills (14.84)
- Named NSIC Setter of the Week for the second week in a row

Others Under Consideration
OFFENSE
Zayda Priebe (BSU) 
- Earned MVP honors at the Mountain Lion Classic All-Tournament 
- Led the Beavers in kills with 49, digs with 12 and points with 55
- Averaged 2.72 kills per set and hit an impressive .416 in 89 chances
- Hit .643 against Colorado Springs and added a .462 hitting clip in the win over Western Colorado
Sophie Andersen (CSP)
- Led the Golden Bears in kills/set (3.57) and hitting percentage (.374) to capture the Colorado Premier Challenge title
- Cleaned up in the championship match with 23 kills while hitting .588 (23-3-34) to defeat #3 Wayne State in five sets
- Her 23-kill performance was the third-most kills in a match in the NSIC this year
- Opened the tournament with 16 kills, hitting .464 (16-3-28) in a 4-set win over #22 Western Washington
- Added nine kills in a semifinal win against #1 West Texas A&M in the semifinals
- Ranked 5th in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.365) and kills/set (3.62) on the season, leading the Golden Bears in both statistics
Samantha Paulsen (UMD)
- Led the team in kills per set (3.15) as the Bulldogs hosted the Up North Tournament
- Was one of three Bulldogs to record at least 12 blocks in the four matches
- Recorded a season-high 15 points in a win vs. Northern Michigan
- Had a season-high five blocks in a win vs. Southern New Hampshire
- Was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team
Kelsie Cada (WSC)
- Named to the Colorado Premier Challenge All-Tournament team 
- Hit .284 with 52 kills and 32 digs 
- Recorded 14 kills in win vs. #13 West Florida while holding a .700 hitting per-centage 
- Recorded 19 kills in five set loss to #2 Concordia-St. Paul 

DEFENSE
Kiya Durant (MSU) 
- Recorded a total of 21 blocks in four matches over the course of the weekend
- Averaged nearly 1.5 blocks per set.
- Had seven blocks against Cameron
- Added 12 digs during the weekend 

SETTER
Madison Gordon (UMD)
- Averaged  11.38 assists per set, with 9 kills, 1.92 digs per set, and six blocks
- Recorded her third double-double of the season with a season-high 54 assists and 10 digs in a win vs. Southern New Hampshire
- Had at least 34 assists in each of the three UMD wins
- Was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team
Keri Walker (NSU)
- Dished out 159 total assists, pacing Northern State to a .217 attack percentage
- Averaged 10.60 assists per set
- Led the team with five aces
- Added a team second best 52 digs and 15 blocks
Emma Berran (SCSU)
- Dished out 11.20 assists per set on a .438 assist percentage while adding 1.27 digs/set, five blocks and four aces
- Posted one double-double and directed the Huskies offense to a league-leading 14.87 kills/set on .278 hitting
Rachel Walker (WSC)
- Averaged 10.00 assists per set at Colorado Premier Challenge
- Recorded 42 digs, 7 blocks and five kills, and five ace serves across four matches 
- Tallied 40 Assists against #19 Regis, 43 assists vs. #2 Concordia-St. Paul 
- Named to the Colorado Premier Challenge All-Tournament Team 

 
NSIC Volleyball Players of the Week
9/5/23
O: #13 Taya Beller - Wayne State
D: #2 Kaylyn Madison - Minnesota Duluth
S: #5 Teagan Starkey – Concordia-St. Paul
9/11/23
O: #8 Kenzie Foley - St. Cloud State
D: #3 Abby Meister - Northern State
S: #5 Teagan Starkey – Concordia-St. Paul (2)

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 15-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in 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 union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 25 team national championships and crowned 110 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.