Box Score Mankato, Minn. –  The Minnesota State volleyball team won its final match at the Maverick Invitational Saturday as it was victorious over the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets.

The Mavericks swept the Yellow Jackets by the scores of 29-27, 25-23 and 25-19 to improve to 4-3 on the season.

In set one, Minnesota State and Black Hills State battled point for point all throughout the set as it was all square at 19-19. The Mavericks were able to go on a little 4-1 run to make it 23-20 before the Yellow Jackets were able to make a 5-2 run themselves. However the Mavericks prevailed in the end with the set win, 29-27. Sophomore middle blocker Krista Hassing led the Mavericks with six kills as junior Ellie Van De Steeg recorded 16 assists.   

The Mavericks in set two built an early 10-5 advantage over the Yellow Jackets and sustained the lead as they won the set 25-23. Once again Hassing led the way for the Mavericks with six kills on seven attempts while Van De Steeg added another 13 helpers. 

Minnesota State was down 10-7 in set three to the Yellow Jackets before the Purple and Gold tied the set up at 12-12 and at 17-17. MSU was then able to go on an 8-2 run to finish the set and the match at 25-19. Junior Chandra Honebrink posted five kills with Hassing adding another four kills to her stat sheet. Overall as a team the Mavericks hit a .519 attack percentage in set three.

Leading the way for the Mavericks was Hassing with 16 kills, with Honebrink contributing 11 kills herself. Van De Steeg finished with a match-high of 43 assists, while freshman Vikolia Meade added eight kills to the match.

The next time the Mavericks will hit the court will be on Tuesday at Taylor Center as they will play host to #1 Concordia St-Paul in their NSIC opener for MSU. The first serve is slated for 7 p.m.

Maverick Invitational All-Tournament Team
Minnesota State – Ellie Van De Steeg, Krista Hassing and Chandra Honebrink
Upper Iowa – Jennifer Mundt, Hailey Brown
Wayne State – Courtney Van Groningen, Alyssa Frauendorfer, Elizabeth Gebhardt
Black Hills State –Meghan Sipe, Shelby Mayer