Mankato, Minn. --- The Mavericks begin a five-match home stand as they host Upper Iowa University on Tuesday, before turning their attention to No. 23 Northern State and MSU Moorhead this weekend. The Peacocks enter Tuesday's contest with a 6-16 overall record and a mark of 2-12 in conference action. MSU and Northern State had an early season encounter, as the Mavericks hosted Northern State in the Maverick Invitational, in which MSU fell, 3-1. The Dragons are currently 14-8 on the season and 7-7 on the circuit.
MSU posted a 1-2 record this past weekend as it fell to No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul last Tuesday; before it took to the road where it defeated the University of Mary 3-1 in Bismarck, N.D., before falling to Minot State 3-0 dropping to 9-12 overall with a mark of 5-9 in conference action.
The Mavericks were led by freshman Lexi Platz (Lafayette, Minn.), who led the Maverick offensive charge posting 29 kills while hitting .290 with 14 digs and two blocks in the three matches this past week. Freshman Haley Fogarty (Belle Plaine, Minn.) led MSU defensively, tallying 46 digs in 10 sets.
Scouting the Opponent: MSU will begin its five-match homestand hosting two schools in which they have already faced this season in Upper Iowa and Northern State on Tuesday and Friday respectively. The Mavericks defeated the Peacocks in Fayette, Iowa by a score of 3-2 on Sept. 21 and hosted the Northern State Wolves as part of the Maverick Invitational. The Mavericks fell to the Wolves 3-1 on Sept. 14.
Upper Iowa is coached by Aaron Nelson, who is in his third year at the helm of the Peacock volleyball program. The last time MSU and UIU met junior Jenna McNallan (Andover, Minn.) led the Mavericks posting 16 kills while hitting .467, while the Peacocks were led by senior Melanie Behnke who notched 20 kills with a .621 attacking percentage. Sophomore Jennifer Mundt leads UIU with 267 kills.
No. 25 Northern State is under the direction of third-year head coach Brent Aldridge who has amassed a 50-28 record. The last time these two teams squared-off sophomore Chandra Honebrink (Waconia, Minn.) paced the Mavericks with 12 kills, while the Wolvers were led by sophomore Kelsie Chambers who posted 14 kills. Chambers leads the Wolves with 316 kills and has amassed a .330 attacking percentage during the 2013 campaign.
MSU-Moorhead currently sits 14-8 overall with a mark of 7-7 on the circuit. The Dragons are coached by Tammy Blake, who is in her 19th season as head coach. MSUM is led by sophomore Kaitlin VanWinkle who has recorded 241 kills, while hitting .321 this season.
Ace-Ace in Your Face: The Mavericks are currently seventh in the conference in service aces, posting 105 aces (1.36 per set), through 21 matches. Senior Briel Hendricksen (Lakefield, Minn.) leads the way with 23 service aces this season (0.34 per set) which ranks her seventh in the conference in total service aces.
Set-by-Set: MSU has posted a 4-8 record in matches that last three sets so far this season, while amassing a 2-2 record in four-set matches and posting a 3-2 record in matches that extend into the fifth set.
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