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The Cougar volleyball team wraps up their stretch of three straight weekends at home this weekend, hosting the St. Scholastica Saints and Northland LumberJills on Oct. 14 and 15 respectively. They will also be looking to snap out of their recent two-match losing skid, having a dropped a pair of four set matches the last two times out.

The Schedule
St. Scholastica, Oct. 14, 7:00 p.m.
Northland, Oct. 15, 11:00 a.m.

The Records
Minnesota Morris: 12-7, 4-3 UMAC (4th)
St. Scholastica: 16-6, 6-1 UMAC (2nd)
Northland: 1-18, 0-7 UMAC (8th)

The Hitters (K-E-TA)
UMM: Kaylie Clark (182-100-629), Emily Auch (167-68-449), Steph Schmeising (160-78-430)
CSS: Anna Zyvoloski (289-102-813), Paige Hardy (231-77-612)
NC: Gabby Jukkala (105-86-434), Erin Roembke (96-72-407)

The Setters
UMM: Natalie Thomas 670, 9.71/s
CSS: Sarah Kurtovich 456, 6.81/s
NC: Megan Zynda 354, 5.71/s

Last time out
The Cougars dropped a 3-1 nonconference game to Dakota State on Tuesday, after going 1-1 last weekend in UMAC action. Morris opened the weekend with a quick 3-0 sweep of Bethany Lutheran, before falling 3-1 to Martin Luther in an error plagued match. In one of their best hitting matches of the year, the Cougars hit .291 against BLC, but managed just a .101 mark against MLC.

St. Scholastica most recently swept their travel partner, Northland, earlier this week, which included a 25-9 win in the second set. The Saints also ran through Crown last weekend, sweeping the Storm 3-0, just a night after suffering their first conference loss, 3-2 to Northwestern. The Saints had to win a 25-21 fourth set to force the fifth game with the Eagles, but eventually fell 15-8 for their first UMAC loss since 2009.

After a win in their opener, Northland has been mired in an 18-match losing streak, which included a trio off losses in the last week. Most recently the LumberJills were swept by St. Scholastica, after falling to Northwestern and Crown over the weekend. Northland was able to push Crown to five games, ending a streak of five consecutive sweeps.

Earlier this season
The Cougars and Saints have split their two meetings this season, with Morris winning 3-2 on a neutral court at the Blazer Invite, and St. Scholastica winning 3-0 at home in UMAC play. The Cougars notched 51 kills and held the Saints to a .164 hitting percentage in their win, while the Saints countered to post a .221 hitting percentage and held the UMM to a .062 mark in the rematch.

The Cougars cruised through the LumberJills in the road already this season, sweeping 3-0 to post a season best mark of .356 at the net, also the sixth best mark in the UMAC all season. Kaylie Clark led the way with 10 kills and a .588 hitting percentage, also adding 10 digs for a double-double.

Last 10 meetings against St. Scholastica
09/24/11 at CSS: CSS 3, UMM 0
09/16/11 at CSB: UMM 3, CSS 0
10/15/10 at CSS: CSS 3, UMM 1
09/25/10 at UMM: CSS 3, UMM 0
09/18/10 at CSB: CSS 3, UMM 0
10/23/09 at UMM: UMM 3, CSS 0
10/08/09 at CSS: CSS 3, UMM 2
10/17/08 at CSS: CSS 3, UMM 0
10/02/08 at UMM: CSS 3, UMM 0
10/19/07 at UMM: CSS 3, UMM 1

Last 10 meetings against Northland
09/25/11 at NC: UMM 3, NC 0
10/16/10 at NC: UMM 3, NC 2
09/24/10 at UMM: UMM 3, NC 0
10/24/09 at UMM: UMM 3, NC 1
10/09/09 at NC: NC 3, UMM 0
10/18/08 at NC: UMM 3, NC 2
10/03/08 at UMM: NC 3, UMM 2
10/20/07 at UMM: NC 3, UMM 0
09/28/07 at NC: NC 3, UMM 0
10/20/06 at NC: NC 3, UMM 1