Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University volleyball team will look to improve on their 13-15 record last season as it begins its season with a trip to the Rocky Mountains to start the 2014 campaign. The Mavericks will compete in the Oredigger Volleyball Classic, located in Golden, Colo. where they will play four teams in a span of two days.

Scouting the Opponent: The Mavericks first day of matches will be up against Dominican and Bentley, on Friday with the first serves scheduled for 12 p.m. (cst)., and 6:30 p.m. (cst), respectively. On Saturday, the Mavericks will face-off with Colorado Christian and Northwest Nazarene with match times slated for 1 p.m. (cst), and 5 p.m. (cst) respectively. 

Dominican is located in San Rafael, Calif., and is a member of the Pacific West Conference. The Penguins finished their 2013 season with a 12-18 record. Head Coach Gayle Stammer is in fifth season under the helm at Dominican.

Bentley is located in Waltham, Ma. and is a member of the Northeast 10 Conference. The Falcons completed their 2013 season with a 17-10 record. Coaching the Falcons, in his first year of duty,  is Acting Head Coach Joey Pacis.

Colorado Christian is located in Lakewood, Colo., and is coming off a 20-11 from the previous season. The Cougars are members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).  CCU is coached by Verlyn Rsoensthal, in his fifth year in control of the reigns.

Northwest Nazarene is located in Nampa, Idaho, and is a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). Last year the Crusaders finished with an 18-6 record. NNU is led by head coach Doug English in his second year of duty.

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

New Faces: MSU will have three new incoming freshman players 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.

Approaching 3,000: Ellie Van De Steeg currently has 2,334 career assists through two seasons at Minnesota State. She is just 666 assists away from becoming the sixth member of the MSU 3,000 assist club.

Century Mark: The Mavericks return six players from last season who tallied at least 125 kills during the 2013 season. 

Statistically Speaking: In 2013 the Mavericks recorded 1,267 kills compared to 1,187 by its opponents, while racking up 1,194 assists compared to its opponents 1,099. Minnesota State was only able to record 139 blocks to their oppnents who have recorded 194 blocks last season. 


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