Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University volleyball team will travel to St. Paul, Minn., Tuesday for a mid-week NSIC showdown with #8 Concordia-St. Paul. The match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The Mavericks began NSIC play with two come from behind, five set victories last week. MSU took down Winona State last Thursday at Taylor Center, before rallying from behind and defeating Upper Iowa last Saturday in Fayette, Iowa.

With the two wins the Mavericks extend their overall record to 8-2 on the season, including a 2-0 record in NSIC play.

Concerning #8 Concordia-St. Paul:  The Golden Bears this season sit with a 6-3 overall record and 1-1 conference record after sweeping Upper Iowa at home and falling to Winona State in four sets on the road last week. Earlier this season, CU defeated the defending national champions in #1 Tampa at time, as the Golden Bears defeated the Spartans in a sweep.

CU is coached by Brady Starkey who is currently in his 13th season at the helm. Currently Starkey has amassed a 407-42 (.906) overall record and a 212-10 (.955) conference record while at CU.

Tuesday's matchup will mark as the 25th all-time meeting between the two schools as CU owns a 20-4 all-time record over MSU. The Mavericks faced off with the Golden Bears three times last season and were able to win one of the three meetings with CU. In the win, MSU defeated #2 CU at the time in four sets after posting 63 kills and 12 service aces, compared to the Golden Bears recording 38 kills and just one service ace.

So far this season CU ranks second in the NSIC in kills per set (14.61), blocks per set (2.42 ) and assists per set (13.8). The Golden Bears also own a .236 attack percentage, which puts them in the middle of the pack in the conference and currently sits in first in the NSIC in digs per set with 17.97.

Junior outside hitter Anna Schlaak leads the team with 140 kills this season and currently ranks third in the NSIC with 4.24 kills per set. Junior middle blocker Riley Hanson sits in second on team with 97 kills (2.94 per set) and leads CU with a .299 attack percentage.

Junior setter Kasey Williams leads the Golden Bears this season with 403 assists and ranks third in all of Division II with 12.21 assists a set. Williams is also second on the team with 110 digs this season, while senior libero Taylor Dordan leads the team with 152 digs which places her seventh in the NSIC with 4.61 digs a set.

Senior middle blocker Heather Schiller leads the team with 49 total blocks and ranks fifth in Division II with 1.48 blocks per set.  Schiller has also collected 66 kills so far this season, while junior middle blocker Emma Lange has tallied 71 kills and 37 total blocks. Lange ranks seventh in the NSIC with 1.12 blocks per set, while junior outside hitter Emily McDonough leads the team with 12 service aces this season.

More From Last Week: In last Thursday's five set win over Winona State, the Mavericks notched a .249 attack percentage and were able to out block the Warriors, as MSU tallied 11 total team blocks compared to WSU's three in the match.

Junior Krista Hassing tied her career-high of 23 kills in the match for the third time this season, while junior Courtney Anderson notched a career-high 14 kills in the win.

Senior setter Ellie Van De Steeg also notched a season-high 55 assists, while junior Haley Fogarty reached the 1,000 career digs milestone in the win. 

In last Saturday's five set win against Upper Iowa, the Mavericks notched a .229 attack percentage and held the Peacocks to a .151 attack percentage in the contest. MSU was also able to out block UIU, 13 to 5.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Ott posted season-highs of nine kills, .471 attack percentage and 11 digs in the win over the Peacocks. Freshman Nevena Vukomanovich tallied career-highs of 12 digs, 11 kills and a .524 attack percentage. Hassing also pitched in with 10 total blocks which marked as a career-high, while Fogarty notched a season-high with 31 digs.

Statistically Speaking: The Mavericks rank fourth in the NSIC  in attack percentage with a .258 clip and opponent hitting percentage with a mark of .152. MSU also sits in fifth in the conference in blocks per set with 2.32 a set. MSU is also averaging three more kills and assists a match than its opponents. The Mavericks average 13.6 kills and 12.9 assists, while their opponents average 10.4 kills and 9.76 assists.

Off to a Hot Start: Junior middle blocker Krista Hassing is continuing to build off her impressive sophomore season. Hassing once again led MSU last week with 40 kills (4.00 per set) and 12 total blocks. 

For the season, the Blue Earth, Minn. native leads the conference in total kills with 179 and kills per set at 4.71  Hassing also sits in fifth in the NSIC in blocks per set as she is averaging 1.16 a set. So far this season she has accumulated 44 total blocks, including 12 solo blocks.

Nationally, Hassing ranks second in Division II in points per set with 5.66, fourth in kills per set and seventh in total kills.

Receiving Votes: In the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 poll, the Mavericks moved up a bit after posting a 2-0 record last week. MSU is receiving 20 votes this week.

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 moved up to third place on the MSU career assists list this past week after posting another 107 assists. The Hutchinson, Minn native currently sits with 4,007 career assists and ranks sixth in the NSIC this season in assists per set with 11.24.
 

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)	4,007
4.	Heidi Schnagl (1991-94)	3,963
5.	Nichole Rose (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 in last Thursday's 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 1,046 career assists and ranks ninth on the all-time list right behind her sister Chelsea.
 

Rank	Name (Years Played)	Career Digs
1.	Jen Jacobs (2000-03)	1,623
2.	Ali Rice (2008-11)	1,342
3.	Lindsay Childers (1999-2002)	1,253
4.	Stef Sandstrom (2004-07)	1,199
5.	Brittany Stamer (2008-2011)	1,180
6.	Nichole Rose (2000-03)	1,169
7.	Cassie Wolpern (2004-2006)	1,168
8.	Chelsea Fogarty (2009-12)	1,161
9.	Haley Fogarty (2013-Present)	1,046
10.	Ashley Nachreiner (2005-2008)	1,036
11.	Jessica Oolman (2000-03)	1,017