Mankato, Minn. --- The Mavericks will wrap-up a three-match home stand as they play host to travel partner, No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul at Taylor Center on Tuesday evening before they head to the Peace Garden State to do battle with the University of Mary and Minot State on Friday and Saturday respectively.
This past weekend MSU was unable to solve No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State or the University of Sioux Falls, as it fell to 8-10 overall with a mark of 4-7 on the circuit. The Mavericks fell to the Mustangs in straight sets Friday evening, before embarking on a five-set match with the Cougars on Saturday.
MSU was led by sophomore Chandra Honebrink (Waconia, Minn.), who posted 25 kills (3.12 per set) in the two matches while hitting .246 on the weekend. Junior Tiana Runck (Springfield, Minn.) was able to tally five total blocks on the weekend, while sophomore Ellie Van De Steeg (Hutchinson, Minn.) paced the Mavericks with 80 assists (10.00 per set). Defensively, it was freshman Haley Fogarty (Belle Plaine, Minn.) who recorded 27 digs on the weekend.
Scouting the Opponent: The Mavericks will complete the season series with their travel partner, No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul in the final match of a three-match home stand, MSU fell in straight sets to CU on Sept. 24 in St. Paul. This will be the first meeting of the 2013 campaign between the Mavericks and the Beavers and Marauders.
The Golden Bears will enter Tuesday's contest with a mark of 19-1 overall and boast a perfect 11-0 on the circuit. CU is under the direction of Brad Starkey, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Bear volleyball program, who as amassed a 358-31 record in his coaching tenure. The Golden Bears are led by senior Kayla Koenecke, who has posted 247 kills so far this season.
The Mauraders are 4-14 overall with a mark of 1-10 in conference action, with their lone winning coming against Bemidji State. Steve Novacek is the head coach of the University of Mary, and in his third season as the helm of the Mauraders, who are led by redshirt freshman Alexis Jacobs, who has recorded 184 kills during the 2013 campaign.
Minot State enters this week of competition with an 8-12 overall record with a mark of 4-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Beavers are coached by Travis Ward, who is in his third season at the helm of the MISU volleyball program and has amassed a 32-52 overall record. Minot State is led by junior Jen Dixon, who has recorded 255 kills this season.
Ace-Ace in Your Face: The Mavericks are currently seventh in the conference in service aces, posting 93 aces (1.39 per set), through the first 18 matches. Senior Briel Hendricksen (Lakefield, Minn.) leads the way with 22 service aces this season (0.35 per set) which ranks her seventh in the conference in total service aces.
Set-by-Set: MSU has posted a 4-6 record in matches that last three sets so far this season, while amassing a 1-2 record in four-set matches and posting a 3-2 record in matches that extend into the fifth set.
For the complete release in PDF form, click
HERE.
