Mankato, Minn.-  The Minnesota State volleyball team picked up a sweep win victory over Minot State on Friday night at Taylor Center. The Mavericks defeated the Beavers by scores of (27-25, 25-23, 25-22). 

With the win the Mavericks overall record improves to 11-5 overall and 5-3 in NSIC play.

In the win the Mavericks used a balanced offensive attack as five Mavericks recorded five or more kills in the match. Leading the way was junior Sydney Geisness [St. Croix Falls, Wis.] who finished with 11 kills and a .412 attack percentage. Krista Hassing [Blue Earth, Minn.] added nine kills of her own, while sophomore Vikolia Meade [Solon, Iowa] tallied seven kills and three total blocks in the win. Rounding out the bunch was senior Rachel Ott [Stoughton, Wis.] and junior Lexi Platz [Lafayette, Minn.] as each one added five kills, while Ott also recorded six digs.

In set one both teams were notched at 8-8, before MISU took control in the set and went on a 4-1 run to put the Beavers up 12-9 midway through the set. MISU held steady to its lead late in the set with a 19-15 lead over the Mavericks. MSU would trim back into MISU's lead and eventually tied it all up at 23-23, after the Mavericks went on a 4-0 run themselves which forced a Beavers timeout. After the timeout both teams traded points to keep the match tied at 25-25, before the Mavericks prevailed and took the last two points of the match to give them a 27-25  win over the Beavers. Hassing led the way with six kills, while Geisness and Meade each added three kills in the set.

The Mavericks in set two led throughout over the Beavers as they steadily built their lead to four, 19-15, late in the set. However MISU wouldn't go away without a fight as it managed to tie the set back up at 23-23. Once again the Mavericks scored the next two points in set two to give them the 25-23 victory. Geisness led the Mavericks offensive attack in the set as she posted four kills, while Meade, Hassing, Platz and Ott each added two kills a piece in the set.

In the last and final set it was full of runs and momentum shifts by each team. The Beavers took an early 4-0 advantage over the Mavericks, before MSU rallied back and went on a 7-3 run to tie the set up at 7-7. Soon after that the Mavericks built a 16-12 lead over the Beavers, but again MISU wouldn't quite go away in the set. The Beavers tied the set up at 19-19, before MSU went on a 3-0 run to quickly put the Mavericks back up 22-19. That late run proved to be the difference as MSU took the set, 25-22 over MISU.

Senior Ellie Van De Steeg [Hutchinson, Minn.] finished the match with 33 assists and six digs, while junior Haley Fogarty [Belle Plaine, Minn.] collected a match-high 15 digs. 

MSU will look for win number two this weekend, as the Mavericks will take on U-Mary Saturday at Taylor Center. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m.