For Immediate Release
Monday, September 25, 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
- Led the NSIC with 6.75 points and 5.83 kills per set while 
- Hit .347 with a .486 kill percentage 
- Added 2.50 digs and 0.83 blocks a set while scoring three aces
- Entered the program’s top 10 career kills list and climbed to ninth in SCSU history 
- Named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season (9/11/23)

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#18 Maggie Brahmer (MH, 6-0, Jr., Pierce, Neb. / Pierce HS) - Wayne State
- Averaged 1.55 blocks with 3.55 kills per set in three Wayne State wins
- Matched career-high with 20 kills and four blocks in 3-2 win at #9 SMSU Saturday
- Matched season-high with eight blocks plus 10 kills in a 3-0 sweep at Sioux Falls
- Posted .354 hitting percentage in three matches

NSIC Setter of the Week
#18 Emma Berran (S, 6-0, So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Eagan HS) - St. Cloud State
- Led the NSIC with 13.50 assists per set 
- Paced the conference with 15.67 kills a set - a full kill better than the next best team
- Guided an offense that hit .284 on the weekend with a .437 kill percentage 

Others Under Consideration
OFFENSE
Kia Kriener (AUGIE)
- Ranked second in the conference with 4.29 kills per set
- Delivered 30 kills overall in 7 sets
- Tallied 15 kills and two blocks at Winona State
- Added 15 more kills in a three set victory over Minnesota State on Saturday
Rylie Bjerklie (BSU) 
 - Posted 15 kills without an error to hit .536
- Added six blocks (all solo), four service aces and a dig in six sets
- Opened the week with nine kills, hit .474, with four solo blocks in the win over UMary
- Added six kills, hit .667, with three service aces and two solo blocks in the win over Minot State
Jasmine Mulvihill (CSP)
- Led the Golden Bears with 4.00 kills per set (24 total kills) in their two sweeps
- Hit .378 with just seven errors on 45 attempts
- Added 3.00 digs per set (18 total digs) as well as 0.50 blocks per set and 0.33 aces per set
- Picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 14 kills, 12 digs, two blocks and two aces at MSU
- Hit .450 with 10 kills in the win over Winona State
- Ranks sixth in the NSIC in kills per set (3.61) and 14th in hitting percentage (.316)
Maya Jones (UMC)
-Two double-doubles on the weekend
-18 kills and 23 digs in the win on UMary
-18 kills and 12 digs against Minot State
-Has hit over .265 in three straight matches
-Was key in coming back from 2-0 against UMary
Paige Decker (UMD)
- Season-high 19 kills vs. Northern State
- Led the team with a .533 hitting percentage with 10 kills vs. MSU Moorhead
- Led all conference performers on the week with 61 attack attempts vs. Northern State 
Abby Brooks (NSU)
- Led Northern State and the NSIC hitting .559 last week
- Tallied 22 kills, averaging 2.75 kills per set
- Recorded a career high 17 kills in the Wolves upset victory over No. 7 Minnesota Duluth
- Added five blocks in the two matches
Emma VanHeel (SMSU)
- Hit .344 against top-ranked Wayne State with just three errors (14-3-32)
- Posted three total blocks for the Mustangs front line
- Recorded two service aces against WSC
Kelsie Cada (WSC)
- Averaged 3.64 kills and 2.73 digs in three WSC wins
- Also posted .394 hitting percentage with one double-double
- Had 17 kills and 16 digs in 3-2 win at #9 SMSU Saturday
- Added 13 kills and two service aces in 3-0 Tuesday sweep over Chadron State

DEFENSE
Erika Bute (AUGIE)
- Led the NSIC with 8.00 digs per set
- Tallied 32 digs, second most in a four-set match in the NSIC this season, against Winona State 
- Added 24 digs, the second most in a three-set match in the NSIC this season, against Minnesota State
Lauren Justesen (BSU)
- Collected 33 digs, averaging 5.50 pet set in the wins this week
- Added seven assists and three service aces in six sets
- Posted 19 digs and five assists in the win over UMary
- Added 14 digs in the win over Minot State
Kailee Waasdorp  (UMC) 
-38 digs in five set win over UMary
-5.7 digs per set in the weekend
-Her 38 digs were the most by a Golden Eagle since 2019
-Has double-digit digs in all but one match this season
-Added 19 digs against Minot State
Abby Meister (NSU)
- Led the Northern State defense with 47 digs against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth
- Averaged 6.71 digs per set, second best in the NSIC last week
- Added one assist, one kills, and one ace
- Continues to lead the NSIC in total digs and digs per set
Keely Kurschner (SCSU)
- Averaged 5.50 digs per set on the weekend, leading St. Cloud State and tying for fourth in the NSIC
- Was part of a defense that allowed just 8.00 kills a set on .061 hitting

SETTER
Teagan Starkey (CSP)
- Averaged 12.67 assists per set (76 total assists) in CSP's two wins over the weekend
- Chipped in 1.83 digs per set, 0.50 aces per set and 0.50 blocks per set in the two matches
- Fell just short of a double-double with 41 assists, nine digs and two aces at Minnesota State
- Guided the offense to a .319 hitting percentage with 35 assists and three blocks against Winona State
- Leads the nation with 13.00 assists per set on the season
- Helped the offense to a nation-leading 15.02 kills per set and the fourth-best hitting percentage at .288
Madison Gordon (UMD)
- Averaged 12.13 assists per set, good for third in the NSIC last week
- Registered a season-high 59 assists vs. Northern State
- The 59 assists were also conference-high on the weekend
- Added a career-high 17 digs vs. Northern State for her fourth double-double of the season
Rachel Walker (WSC)
- Averaged 11.27 assists per set with 3.36 digs
- Had season-highs with 53 assists and 19 digs in 3-2 win at #9 SMSU Saturday
- Handed out 38 assists in 3-0 Tuesday sweep vs. Chadron State
 
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)
9/18/23
O: #13 Taya Beller - Wayne State (2)
D: #2 Kaylyn Madison - Minnesota Duluth (2)
S: #5 Teagan Starkey – Concordia-St. Paul (3)
9/25/23
O: #8 Kenzie Foley - St. Cloud State(2)
D: #18 Maggie Brahmer - Wayne State
S: #18 Emma Berran - St. Cloud State

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.