Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Mankato, Minn. –  The Minnesota State volleyball team split a pair of matches with a victory over the Upper Iowa Peacocks, before falling to the Wayne State Wildcats on day one of the Maverick Invitational.

MSU began its first day of the Maverick Invitational with a 3-1 win over the Upper Iowa Peacocks by the scores of 28-26, 25-22, 18-25 and 25-20.

In set one, the Mavericks and Peacocks were battling point for point all the way to a 25-25. MSU was able to prevail in the end with a 28-26 win from a set-winning kill by sophomore Krista Hassing. Junior outside hitter Chandra Honebrink led the Mavericks in the set with six kills while hitting a .600 attack percentage. Hassing contributed five kills of her own, as junior Ellie Van De Steeg added 17 assists.

The Mavericks in set two built a 13-9 advantage over the Peacocks and were able to hold on to the lead for a 25-22 set win. Hassing and Honebrink added five and four kills, respectively, while freshman Sydney Powell added another four kills of her own, with Van De Steeg posted another 14  helpers.

In set three, the Peacocks sustained a 17-13 lead over the Mavericks and never looked back as they won the set 25-18. For the Mavericks, Honebrink added another six kills to her stat sheet, while MSU only hit .082 as a team in the set.

In the fourth and final set, the Mavericks were down early to the Peacocks with a score 6-2 but the Purple and Gold were able to fight back and tie it up at 14-14. The Mavericks took the reigns in the rest set as they came out on top in the with a 25-20 win. Honebrink posted another seven kills on seven attempts, with Hassing recording five kills and Van De Steeg adding 17 more assists.

Honebrink paced the Maverick offense with 23 kills and a .365 attack percentage. Hassing posted a total of 17 kills with Van De Steeg finishing with a match high 59 assists. Powell added 11 kills and sophomore Haley Fogarty tallied 23 total digs for the match.,

MSU finished day one with a 3-1 loss to the Wayne State Wildcats by the scores of 25-20, 21-25, 25-20 and 25-18.

The Wildcats built a 16-11 advantage over the Mavericks and were able to hold on for the first set win with a 25-20 score. Honebrink led MSU in the set with five kills and a .500 attack percentage, while Van De Steeg added 11 assists.

In set two, the Mavericks and Wildcats were all even at 19-19, before MSU went on 6-2 run to end the set and win with score of 25-21. Hassing contributed six kills and an impressive .600 attack percentage. Freshman Vikolia Meade recorded four kills to her own while Van De Steeg posted another 14 helpers.

Minnesota State in set three built a 8-3 lead over Wayne State but the Wildcats fought back and were able to tie the set at 18-18 and never looked back, taking the set 25-20. Hassing and Honebrink each added five and four kills, respectively, as Van De Steeg tallied nine assists of her own.

In the fourth and final set the Mavericks and Wildcats were battling point for point when they were tied at 9-9 before Wayne State went on a 6-2 run. The Wildcats were able to sustain the lead as they went on to win the set 25-18. For the Mavericks, Hassing led the way again with five kills and a .500 attack percentage. As a team the Mavericks only accumulated a .065 attack percentage in the set.

Pacing the Maverick offense against the Wildcats were Hassing and Honebrink as they finished with 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Meade added nine kills as Van De Steeg finished with a match high 45 assists.

The next time the Mavericks will hit the court will be Saturday, at 9 a.m., when they will face-off with the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets, on day two of the Maverick Invitational.