Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State University volleyball team will look to build on its 2-0 start on the circuit as it makes the trek up Highway 169, to do battle with travel partner and No. 2 ranked Concordia-St. Paul before returning to the friendly confines of Taylor Center to host St. Cloud State and top-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday respectively.
This past weekend the Mavericks hosted Winona State before traveling to Fayette, Iowa to do battle with Upper Iowa. MSU defeated its opponents 3-0 and 3-2 respectively, improving to 6-3 overall with a 2-0 mark in league play.
Sophomore Chandra Honebrink (5-10, OH, Waconia, Minn.) paced the Maverick offense recording 27 kills (3.38 per set) on the weekend while hitting .328. Honebrink also recorded 11 digs, three blocks and one service ace. The 5-10 sophomore was able to record 12 kills against the Warriors, and notch 15 kills against the Peacocks, lifting the Mavericks to a 2-0 start in conference play, improving to 6-3 overall.
Junior Jenna McNallan (5-8, OH, Andover, Minn.) led the MSU defense with 26 digs (3.25 per set). McNallan started conference action with 14 digs and nine kills against Winona State, then posted a double-double against Upper Iowa recording 16 kills and 12 digs.
Scouting the Opponent: MSU will take to the road to do battle with six-time national champion Concordia-St. Paul, who is currently the second-rated team in the nation on Tuesday evening. The Golden Bears are currently 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference action, with their only loss coming to then 20th-rated Wayne State. CU is under the direction of Brad Starkey, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Bear volleyball program, amassing a 349-31 overall record. CU is led by senior Kayle Koenecke, who boasts the second-best hitting percentage in the conference (.449) and has recorded 133 kills (3.69 per set).
St. Cloud State enters the week with an 8-2 overall record (2-0 NSIC), with its only losses coming at the hands of Drury University and Northwest Missouri State. The Huskies are coached by Michelle Blaeser who is in her fourth season as head coach. SCSU is led by senior Ellie Dietzen, who has recorded 116 kills while hitting .396, which is the sixth-best average in the conference.
UMD enters the second week of NSIC action as the top-rated team in the nation, boasting an 11-0 record with a 2-0 mark in conference action. The Bulldogs are coached by Jim Boos, who is in his 13th season as the head coach at UMD. Boos has guided the Bulldogs to 11 straight NCAA Tournaments. UMD is led by Kate Lange who averaged 5.45 kills per set (207 total kills), while reigning NSIC Setter of the Week Ashley Hinch has dished out 467 helpers so far this season.
Ace-Ace in Your Face: The Mavericks are currently sixth in the conference in service aces, posting 55 aces (1.57 per set), through the first 35 sets. Senior Briel Hendricksen leads the way with 11 sercive aces this season.
It's All In the Family: Freshman libero Haley Fogarty (Belle Plaine, Minn.) picked up right where her sister Chelsea Fogarty left off in rewriting the Minnesota State volleyball record book. Chelsea, who holds the school record for most kills (1,559) in a career saw her younger sister Haley break the single-match dig record in her first collegiate tournament, recording 43 digs against Western Oregon, passing Kris Wolle, who recorded 40 digs in a match during the 1998 season, prior to the start of rally scoring.
