Mankato, Minn. –  The Minnesota State volleyball team will travel to Northern State on Friday night at 7 p.m., before the Mavericks head to MSU Moorhead on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Wolves: Northern State comes into the week owning an 18-8 overall record with a 11-7 conference record. The Wolves are coached by Brent Aldridge who is in his fourth season at the helm. The 2014 NSIC Preseason Player of the Year Kelsey Chambers leads NSU with 363 kills (3.78 per set) to go along with her 240 digs and 42 total blocks. Junior setter Drew Smith leads the Wolves with 942 assists (12.73 per set), while junior middle hitter Carie McGarvie leads the team with 85 total blocks.
   
Scouting the Dragons: MSU Moorhead comes into the week owning a 10-16 overall record with a 5-13 NSIC record. The Dragons are coached by Tammy Blake who is in her 20th season with the program. Offensively, MSUM is led by junior middle blocker Kaitlin VanWinkle who has posted 321 kills (3.45 per set) to go along with her team-leading 99 total blocks. Junior middle blocker Abby Wolpern is second on the team in kills and digs with 247 and 248 digs, respectively. Junior libero Amber Krenske leads MSUM in digs with 347 (4.96 per set).

From Last Week: The Minnesota State volleyball team went 2-1 last week as they fell to #3 Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday before sweeping both Mary and Minot State at Taylor Center to round out the week.

How We Stack Up: As a team the Mavericks rank fourth  in the NSIC with 1,208 assists (13.27 per set) and third in opponents assists with 954 (10.48 per set). MSU currently sits in fourth place with 1,272 kills (13.98 per set) and sits second on the opponent kills list with 1,001 kills (11.00 per set). The Purple and Gold rank fifth in the NSIC in service aces per set with 1.48 per set.

Killin' It: Sophomore middle blocker Krista Hassing comes into the week sitting in the top-10 of the conference in kills per set. The Blue Earth, Minn. native sits tenth in the NSIC as she is averaging 3.63 kills a set.

Assisting the Way: Ellie Van De Steeg comes into the week ranked fourth in the NSIC with an average of 11.79 assists per set, giving her a total 1073 assists on the year.

Ace in Your Face: Senior defensive specialist Haley Doran comes into the week ranked fifth in the NSIC in service aces per set with 0.36 giving her 32 on the year.

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 were 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.

To view the complete release in PDF form, click HERE