VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com)  Viking volleyball, after undergoing off-season change, is set to see their team in action Monday at home.

The Vikings will host the Viking scrimmages Monday throughout the day, hosting teams from the area for the warm-up to the 2023 season before heading on the road to Iowa next weekend.

Michelle Mieklejohn takes over as the Vikings’ new head coach this season after Brigitte Greywater was not retained after last season.  The Vikings were 11-17 a year ago, finishing fifth in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA).  They were beaten in the opening round of the conference tournament by Mayville State in a five-set thriller.

Every Viking in a whos-who of North Dakota high school volleyball returns this season.  The lone senior from a year ago, Bailey Nelson (Argusville, ND) returns with a Covid year remaining.  She recorded her 1000th kill in her collegiate career last season

All Vikings, save one, from a year ago were standout North Dakota Class B players.  They will be joined by four more North Dakota incoming freshman, and a six-foot transfer middle in Mardi Scutchings from Kelvington, SK.  Scutchings was named NJCAA All Region XIII Team 2021, AAC Conference Champion 2021, NCCAA National Champion 2021, AAC Conference and Conference Tournament Champion 2022 and NCCAA South Region Team 2022 while at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake.

Valley City State opens its competitive season next weekend at Northwestern, IA, facing Northwestern and Briar Cliff.  The Vikings host an invitational September 8th and 9th, then open conference play at Dickinson State September 13th.