Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University volleyball team will continue its stay on the road this weekend to take on Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. The Mavericks will battle with USF on Friday at 7:00 p.m., and will close out their weekend with SMSU on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

MSU suffered its first conference loss of the season on Tuesday against #8 Concordia-St. Paul, as the Golden Bears swept (25-19, 25-19, 25-16) the Mavericks in St. Paul, Minn.

In the match, the Mavericks posted just a .165 attack percentage while the Golden Bears tallied a .228 attack percentage. MSU also committed nine service errors in the match, compared to CU committing three service errors.

Junior middle blocker Krista Hassing [Blue Earth, Minn.] led MSU with 14 kills, a .357 attack percentage and four total blocks. Senior setter Ellie Van De Steeg [Hutchinson, Minn.] posted a team-high 27 assists and junior libero Haley Fogarty [Belle Plaine, Minn.] collected a team-high 11 digs in the loss.

With the loss the Mavericks fall to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in NSIC play for the season.

Concerning Sioux Falls: USF currently sits with an 8-4 overall record and a 0-3 record in NSIC play. The Cougars come into the match losing four straight contests after beginning their season 8-0.

The Cougars are coached by Joel McCartney who is in his fifth season at the helm. During his first four years at USF, McCartney has compiled a 65-69 record.

Friday's matchup will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools. The series currently is tied up at 2-2 with USF having the last laugh from the past two matches. In  the most recent match between MSU and USF, the Mavericks fell to the Cougars in five sets.

In the match, Krista Hassing led MSU with 18 kills and four blocks, while junior defensive specialist Rissi McNallan [Andover, Minn.] pitched in with a team-high three service aces. Ellie Van De Steeg finished the match with 44 assists, nine digs and seven kills, while Haley Fogarty posted a team-high 20 digs. 

This season the Cougars are averaging a .233 attack percentage, 11.76 assists per set, 12.89 kills a set and 13.80 digs per set. USF also finds itself ranked fourth in the NSIC in blocks per set with 2.44.

Junior middle blocker Jordan Calef leads USF with 61 total blocks (1.36 per set) and a .394 attack percentage. Calef also sits in second on the team with 113 kills and 10 service aces. Calef ranks third in the NSIC in blocks per set and eighth in the conference in attack percentage.

Freshman outside hitter Makenna Rockeman leads the Cougars with 130 kills (2.89 per set) this season, while freshman setter Megan Hamstad leads USF this season with 205 assists (4.77 per set) and 11 service aces. Sophomore setter Kayla Crane places second on the team with 177 assists, while junior libero Abby Folk leads USF with 190 digs (4.22 per set) so far this season.

Concerning #3 Southwest Minnesota State: The Mustangs enter the weekend with a 9-2 overall record and a 2-1 record in conference play. Earlier this season, SMSU got some revenge on the defending national champions in Tampa (Fla.), as the Mustangs took down the Spartans at the Colorado Premier Challenge.

SMSU is coached by Terry Culhane who is currently in his 12th season at the school. In his first 11 seasons at SMSU, Culhane has been honored as NSIC Coach of the Year three times and has compiled a 286-81 overall record, along with a 165-39 record in conference play.

Saturday's matchup will mark as the 51st meeting between the two schools, as the Mavericks own a 28-22 all-time record against the Mustangs. MSU's win over SMSU last season was the Mavericks first win over the Mustangs since 2009, as SMSU  had won the last nine meetings before last season.

In last season's match, the Mavericks were able to hit a sizzling .275 attack percentage and hold the Mustangs to a .161 attack percentage.

Krista Hassing posted a match-high 19 kills and six total blocks, while Ellie Van De Steeg added 48 assists and three total blocks. Rissi McNallan tied for a team-high 13 digs, while Haley Fogarty was right behind with 12 digs of her own.

This season, SMSU sits third in the NSIC in assists per set with 13.66 and fourth in the NSIC in kills per set with 14.41. Through 11 matches, the Mustangs are averaging a .235 attack percentage which places them eighth in the NSIC and rank seventh in the conference in blocks per set with 2.22 and sixth with 16.15 digs per set.

The Mustangs have three players who have posted at least 100 or more kills this season and are led by senior Abbey Thissen who has posted 155 kills (3.78 per set) and currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in kills per set. Junior Sarah Parker falls in second on the team with 132 kills and leads the team with a .345 attack percentage, which places her 10th in the NSIC. Rounding out the trio is sophomore Eisha Oden who has tallied 127 kills and leads the team with 46 total blocks (1.12 per set), which ranks her seventh in the NSIC in blocks per set. 

Sophomore setter Megan Larson ranks fourth in the NSIC in assists per set, as she leads the Mustangs with 496 assists (12.10 per set) and also leads the team with 14 service aces. Senior setter Whitney Burmeister leads SMSU with 181 digs (4.41 per set) this season, which ranks her ninth in the NSIC in digs per set.

Statistically Speaking: Through 11 matches, the Mavericks rank third in the NSIC  in attack percentage with a .251 clip and  fifth in opponent hitting percentage with a mark of .158. MSU also sits in sixth in the conference in blocks per set with 2.27, seventh in assists per set with 12.78, and eighth in kills per set with 13.46. MSU is also averaging three more kills and assists a match than its opponents. The Mavericks are averaging 13.4 kills and 12.7 assists a set, while their opponents are averaging 10.6 kills and 9.95 assists a set.

Off to a Hot Start: Junior middle blocker Krista Hassing is continuing to build off her impressive sophomore season. The Blue Earth, Minn. native is second in the conference in total kills with 193 and leads the NSIC in kills per set at 4.71.  Hassing also sits in fourth in the NSIC in blocks per set as she is averaging 1.17 a set. So far this season she has accumulated 48 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 are 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 currently sits with 4,007 career assists and ranks sixth in the NSIC this season in assists per set with 11.07.
 

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)	4,043
4	Heidi Schnagl (1991-94)	3,963
5	Nichole 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 1,057 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 (2008-11)	1,180
6	Nichole Rose (2000-03)	1,169
7	Cassie Wolpern (2004-06)	1,168
8	Chelsea Fogarty (2009-12)	1,161
9	Haley Fogarty (2013-Present)	1,057
10	Ashley Nachreiner (2005-08)	1,036
11	Jessica Oolman (2000-03)	1,017