Mankato, Minn. – ,The Minnesota State volleyball team will take on Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday in St. Paul, before hosting their final two NSIC matches this weekend against the University of Mary on Friday at 7 p.m. and Minot State on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Golden Bears: #3 Concordia-St. Paul comes into the week owning a 20-3 overall record with a 13-2 conference record. The Golden Bears are coached by Brady Starkey who is in his 12th season at the helm. Senior outside hitter Anna Schlaak leads the offensive attack for CSP as she has recorded 294 kills (3.63 per set) to go along with her 239 digs (2.95 per set). Sophomore middle blocker Riley Hanson is second on the team in kills with 266 (3.28 per set), as junior setter Kasey Williams leads the team with 994 assists (12.27 per set). Defensively, junior libero Taylor Dordan leads the team with 279 digs, with junior middle blocker Heather Schiller leads the team with 90 total blocks. ,,

Scouting the Marauders: University of Mary comes into the week with a 4-20 overall record and a 1-14 NSIC record. The Marauders are coached by Melissa Chaplin who is her first season on the job. Offensively, U-Mary is led by senior outside hitter Lauren Randall who leads the team with 200 kills (2.47 per set). Defensively, sophomore,defensive specialist Alex Brown leads the team with 376 digs (4.59 per set).

Scouting the Beavers: Minot State is coached by Travis Ward who is in his fourth season as coach. The Beavers come into the week with an 8-16 overall record with a 5-10 NSIC record. Junior outside hitter Mallory Sell leads the Beavers with 307 kills (3.99 per set) as senior outside hitter Jen Dixon is second on the team with 325 kills (3.61 per set) and first on the team with 323 digs (3.59 per set).,

From Last Week: The Minnesota State University volleyball team went 1-1 last weekend as it lost to Sioux Falls on Friday in five sets before beating #5 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday.

Underdog Role: Saturday's win over #5 Southwest Minnesota State marks the second win over a top five team this year for the Mavericks, with the other coming against Concordia-St. Paul, which was ranked second at the time of MSU's win (9/16).

How We Stack Up (Stats through Friday 10/24/14): As a team the Mavericks rank fifth ,in the NSIC with 1,075 assists (13.11 per set) and second in opponents assists with 839 (10.23 per set). MSU currently sits in sixth place with 1,132 kills (13.80 per set) and sits second on the opponent kills list with 881 kills (10.74 per set). The Purple and Gold rank first in the NSIC in service aces per set with 1.60 per set.

Killin' It (Stats through Friday 10/24/14): Sophomore middle blocker Krista Hassing comes into the week sitting in the top-ten of the conference in kills per set. The Blue Earth, Minn. native sits eighth in the NSIC as she is averaging 3.73 kills a set.

Assisting the Way (Stats through Friday 10/24/14): Ellie Van De Steeg comes into the week ranked fourth in the NSIC with an average of 11.63 assists per set, giving her a total 954 assists on the year.

Ace in Your Face (Stats through Friday 10/24/14): Senior defensive specialist Haley Doran comes into the week ranked third in the NSIC in service aces per set with 0.38 giving her 30 on the year.

Can You Dig It? (Stats through Friday 10/24/14): Sophomore libero Haley Fogarty finds herself ,in the top ten of the conference in digs per set. The Belle Plaine, Minn. native comes into the week sitting eighth in the conference with 4.30 for a total of 353 digs.

Returning Roster: The Mavericks return 14 players from their 2013 season, including six seniors Chandra Honebrink, Haley Doran, Jenna McNallan, Tiana Runck, Kaitlyn Braun and,Olivia Kuker.

New Faces: MSU has three freshman on its roster for its 2014 campaign. They are Sydney Powell from Lindstrom, Minn., Jackie Jones hailing from Osseo, Minn., and Vikolia Meade from Solon, Iowa.

Preseason Prognosis: The Mavericks are predicted to finish 8th out of the 16 teams in the 2014 NSIC Volleyball Coaches Poll. Concordia-St. Paul was voted to finish first by years end. Junior setter, Ellie,Van De Steeg, was chosen as a player to watch in 2014 campaign for the Mavericks.

Conference Honors: Both senior outside hitter Chandra Honebrink (Waconia, Minn.) and junior setter Ellie Van De Steeg (Hutchinson, Minn.) received second team all-conference honors for their efforts on the court last year. Honebrink recorded 306 kills and 178 digs during her junior campaign. Van De Steeg ,posted 1,100 assists with an average of 10.78 assists per set.

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