Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State volleyball team will embark on its final regular season road trip of the season this weekend. The Mavericks will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday to take on #20 Augustana, before heading south to take on #3 Wayne State on Saturday. Match times are set for 7:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m., respectively. 

Looking Back: Minnesota State went 1-1 last weekend on the road as they swept Minnesota Crookston last Friday, before falling short to Bemidji State in five sets the next day. In the loss to BSU, the Mavericks fell 2-0 to the Beavers before winning the next two sets to tie the match at 2-2.

Junior Krista Hassing [Blue Earth, Minn.] led MSU over the weekend as she posted team-high's of 40 kills and nine total blocks. Hassing averaged 5.00 kills a set with a .467 attack percentage. Junior Courtney Anderson [Tripoli, Iowa] finished second on the team with 19 kills on a .368 attack percentage and added six total blocks.

Freshman setter Autumn Risch [Howards Grove, Wis.] led MSU with 53 assists (8.83 per set) and also collected 15 digs, while senior Ellie Van De Steeg [Hutchinson, Minn.]pitched in with 34 assists (8.50 per set). Junior Haley Fogarty [Belle Plaine, Minn.] tallied a team-high 38 digs (4.75 per set) on the weekend, while freshman Maddie Keute [Grand Rapids, Minn.] recorded 15 digs and a team-high three service aces over the weekend. 

The Mavericks' overall record sits at 15-9 overall and 9-7 in NSIC play.
 
Concerning #20 Augustana: The Vikings enter the match with a 16-8 overall record and a 9-7 record in NSIC play after losing their past two matches last weekend to MSU Moorhead and Northern State. Augie is coached by Dan Meske who is his first season at the school.

MSU and AU met earlier this season at Taylor Center and the Mavericks were able to win in four sets over the Vikings. Junior Lexi Platz [Lafayette, Minn.] set a new career-hig in the win as she tallied 18 kills. Junior Krista Hassing added another 16 kills with a .306 attack percentage and two service aces, while senior Ellie Van De Steeg paced the Maverick offense with 49 assists, along with three total blocks.

Junior Sydney Geisness [St. Croix Falls, Wis.] and sophomore Vikolia Meade [Solon, Iowa] each finished with eight kills in the win as well, while Meade posted four total blocks to Geisness' three.

Junior Haley Fogarty added a match-high 20 digs and Ellie Van De Steeg and freshman Maddie Keute each collected 11 digs of their own in the win.

Currently the Vikings rank second in the NSIC in digs per set with 17.1 and fourth in the conference in assists per set with 13.4. Augie also ranks fourth in the NSIC in service aces per set with 1.3 and average 14.1 kills per set which sits the Vikings fifth in conference. AU also averages a .239 attack percentage which is seventh best in the NSIC and rank eighth in the NSIC in blocks per set with 2.0.

The Vikings currently have six players this season with 100 or more kills and two players with 400 or more assists this season. Junior Dani Magdzas leads Augie this season with 213 kills (2.51 per set) and has also added 38 total blocks and 28 digs to her stat line. Junior Brittany Cech is second on the team in both kills (209) and digs (300).

Sophomore Ashley Wilson has added 141 kills and leads the team with a .302 attack percentage and 19 service aces. Wilson ranks fifth in the NSIC in service aces per set with 0.32. Sophomore Alex Banker leads the Vikings with 481 assists (6.41 per set) along 14 service aces, while junior Anna Sykora is second on the team with 418 assists (6.15 per set) and has added 12 service aces.

Sophomore Tahlyr Banks leads AU with 474 digs (5.39 per set) and ranks second in the NSIC in digs per set. Junior Becca Finley leads the team with 74 total blocks, while senior Sydeny Hunsley sits second on the team with 53 total blocks.

Concerning #3 Wayne State: The Wildcats enter the week winners of their last 10 matches, including a four set win over Northern State and eight total sweeps during that span. WSC owns a 22-3 overall record and a 14-2 record in NSIC play. The Wildcats are coached by Scott Kneifl who is in his 11th season at the helm.

Earlier this season, the Mavericks and Wildcats met at Taylor Center on Oct. 2. MSU fell to WSC in four sets in the match, as the Mavericks accumulated just a .161 attack percentage and committed 23 attack errors and 12 service errors.

Junior Krista Hassing posted team-highs of 17 kills and five total blocks, while sophomore Vikolia Meade added nine kills and two total blocks to her stat line.

Freshman Nevena Vukomanovich [Maplewood, Minn.] and junior Sydney Geisness finished with eight and seven kills, respectivley, while senior Ellie Van De Steeg collected 39 assists in the loss.

Junior Haley Fogarty tallied a team-high 26 digs, while junior Rissi McNallan added 16 kills of her own and Vukomanovich and Van De Steeg each tallied 15 digs as well.

WSC sits a top the NSIC in digs per set with 19.6, which is the fourth best in Division II. The Wildcats also lead the NSIC in service aces per set with 1.7 and rank fifth in the conference in assists per set with 13.2. Finally, WSC ranks sixth in the NSIC in both attack percentage (.247) and kills per set (14.3).

The Wildcats have four players who have collected 200 or more kills this, which is led by senior Katie Hughes. Hughes leads WSC with 302 kills (3.55 per set) and has also added 416 digs and 19 service aces. Hughes currently ranks seventh in the NSIC in kills per set.

Senior Elizabeth Gebhardt and junior Alyssa Frauendorfer have tallied 267 kills apiece, while Gebhardt is second on the team with 53 total blocks and Frauendorfer leads the team with a .345 attack percentage which ranks seventh in the NSIC. Junior Michaela Mestl has collected 203 kills and 367 digs and leads the team and NSIC with 38 service aces (0.45 per set).

Senior Leisa McClintock leads the Wildcats with 984 assists (11.58 per set) and ranks fifth in the NSIC in assists per set. McClintock was named NSIC Setter of the Week last week as she posted an NSIC high 14.71 assists per set. Senior Courtney VanGroningen leads WSC with 433 digs (5.09 per set) and sits third in the NSIC in digs per set. VanGroningen earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week after she averaged an NSIC high 7.43 digs per set.

Statistically Speaking: Through 24 matches, the Mavericks rank eighth in the NSIC in attack percentage with a .225 clip and sixth in opponent hitting percentage with a mark of .176. MSU also sits in fourth in the conference in blocks per set with 2.23, eighth in assists per set with 12.24 and kills per set with 12.96. 

Efficient Offense: In last Friday's sweep win over Minnesota Crookston, the Mavericks finished with a .391 attack percentage, which marks as the fifth time this season MSU has accumulated a .300 attack percentage or better in a match. All five of those matches the Mavericks won and all by way of a sweep.

Where they Rank: Junior Krista Hassing leads the Mavericks with 366 kills and currently sits in third in the NSIC in kills per set with 4.21 and fourth in blocks per set with 1.14 with a total of 99 blocks. The Blue Earth, Minn. native still ranks sixth in Division II in points per set with 514.

Junior Haley Fogarty ranks fifth in the NSIC in digs per set with 4.85, while junior Rissi McNallan currently sits 12 in the NSIC in service aces per set with 0.29 and has recorded 21 service aces on the year. 

Moving on Up: Back on Oct. 4, 2014 against Bemidji State, senior Ellie Van De Steeg became the sixth MSU player to join the 3,000 career assist club. Van De Steeg continues to rise up the career list as she currently sits with 4,299 career assists which places her third in the all-time career assists lists at MSU. Van De Steeg also ranks sixth in the NSIC this season in assists per set with 10.73.
 

Rank	Name (Years Played)	Career Assists
1	Brittany Stamer (2008-11)	4,718
2	Jen Blendermann (1999-2002)	4,367
3	Ellie Van De Steeg (2012-Present)	4,299
4	Heidi Schnagl (1991-94)	3,963
5	Nicole Roethig (1995-98)	3,804
6	Stef Sandstrom (2004-07)	3,471

1,000 Career Digs Club: Junior libero Haley Fogarty became the 11th member to join the 1,000 career digs club at MSU after reaching the milestone on Sept.17, 2015 in a win over Winona State. Fogarty joins her sister Chelsea Fogarty and cousin Cassie Wolpern on the list. Currently the Belle Plaine, Minn. native sits with 1,263 career assists and ranks third on the all-time list. Haley leads the Mavericks this season with 422 digs and currently sits 
fifth in the NSIC in digs per set with 4.85

 

Rank	Name (Years Played)	Career Digs
1	Jen Jacobs (2000-03)	1,623
2	Ali Rice (2008-11)	1,342
3	Haley Fogarty (2013-Present)	1,263
4	Lindsay Childers (1999-2002)	1,253
5	Stef Sandstrom (2004-07)	1,199
6	Brittany Stamer (2008-11)	1,180
7	Nichole Rose (2000-03)	1,169
8	Cassie Wolpern (2004-06)	1,168
9	Chelsea Fogarty (2009-12)	1,161
10	Ashley Nachreiner (2005-08)	1,036
11	Jessica Oolman (2000-03)	1,017