Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University volleyball team will return home this weekend after having three straight NSIC road contests last week. MSU will welcome #11 Wayne State on Friday at 7:00 p.m., before setting its sights on #19 Augustana on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Both matches will be played at Taylor Center.

Last week the Mavericks went 1-2 after being swept by both #8 Concordia-St. Paul and #3 Southwest Minnesota State. MSU picked up its lone win of the week last Friday against Sioux Falls in five sets.

After going 1-2 last week, the Mavericks currently sit with a 9-4 overall record and a 3-2 record in NSIC play. 

Concerning #11 Wayne State: WSC comes into Friday's match with an 11-2 overall record and a 4-1 record in NSIC play, which puts the Wildcats in a tie for second in the conference.  WSC is coached by Scott Kneifl who is now in his 11th season as head coach. In Kneifl's first 10 seasons at WSC, he has racked up a 251-87 overall record and a 141-49 record in the NSIC.

Friday's match will mark as the 25th all-time meeting between Wayne State and Minnesota State. The Mavericks own a 13-11 record against the Wildcats, however WSC has won the last four meetings, including two wins over MSU last season. The Mavericks fell to the Wildcats twice last season both by way of four sets. 

The Wildcats currently rank first in the NSIC in both digs per set with 18.13 and services aces per set with 1.64. WSC also sits in fifth in the conference in hitting percentage (.241),  seventh in kills per set (13.73), eighth in assists per set (12.53) and 11th in blocks per set (1.76).

WSC is balanced both offensively and defensively, as it has four players with at least 100 or more kills and also has three players with at least 175 or more digs on the team this season. 

Offensively, junior Alyssa Frauendorfer leads the Wildcats with 140 kills (3.11 per set) and a .348 hitting percentage, to go along with 29 total blocks and eight service aces on the year. Last weeks NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, senior Katie Hughes, leads the Wildcats with 219 digs (4.87 per set) and sits tied for second on the team with 137 kills (3.04 per set) so far this season. Hughes currently ranks fourth in the NSIC in digs per set. 

Senior Elizabeth Gebhardt also has accumulated 137 kills (3.04 per set) this season, while also recording 35 total blocks and 13 service aces. Junior Michaela Mestl leads the Wildcats with 18 service aces (.40 per set), which places her fifth in the NSIC in aces per set. Mestl has also racked up 100 kills (2.22 per set) and 179 digs (3.98 per set) so far this season.

Senior Leisa McClintock sits in seventh in the NSIC in assists per set with 10.80, as she leads the Wildcats with 486 total assists on the season. Senior libero Courtney VanGroningen sits in second on the team with 202 digs (4.49 per set) on the season, which places her eighth in the NSIC in digs per set. VanGroningen has also recorded 13 service aces this season which puts her in a tie for second on the team.

Concerning #19 Augustana: The Vikings own an 11-2 overall record and a 4-1 record in NSIC play, with their only loss in conference play coming from Southwest Minnesota State in four sets. Augie's head coach is Dan Meske, who is in his first season at the job. Meske is the eighth head coach in program history at Augustana. 

Saturday's matchup will mark as the 61st meeting between the two schools. Augie currently owns the upperhand in series history with a 33-27 all-time record over MSU. The Mavericks won the lone meeting during last season, as the match went to five sets and MSU came from behind for the win after being down two sets to one going into the fourth set. Senior Ellie Van De Steeg [Hutchinson, Minn.] led the Mavericks with 60 assists and 27 digs in the match, while juniors Haley Fogarty [Belle Plaine, Minn.] and Rissi McNallan [Andover, Minn.] each recorded 17 digs in last season's win.

This season the Vikings sit second in the NSIC in both digs per set and assists per set. Augie is averaging 18.13 digs per set and 13.54 assists per set. The Vikings also place third in the conference in service aces per set (1.52), fourth in kills per set (14.28), and eighth in both block per set (1.97) and hitting percentage (.239). Augie also owns the second best opponents hitting percentage in the NSIC, as it is forcing its opponents to a .141 hitting percentage.

Augie is led defensively by sophomore Tahlyr Banks who leads the NSIC in digs per set with 6.35 for a grand total of 292 digs so far this season. Banks has already garnered NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors back in week one of the season.

Junior Dani Magdzas leads the Vikings with 130 kills (2.83 per set) and a .306 hitting percentage. Junior Brittany Cech is second on the team in both kills and digs with 104 and 138, respectively. 

Three Vikings players have tallied 120 or more assists so far this season, which is led by junior Anna Sykora who has recorded 237 assists and is second on the team with 10 service aces. Sophomore Alex Banker is second on the team with 203 assists, while senior Marissa Johnson rounds out the trio with 123 assists and leads the team with 11 service aces. Junior Becca Finley leads Augie with 40 total blocks, while senior Sydney Hunsley sits right behind with 38 total blocks of her own.

Block Party: MSU recorded 18 total team blocks in last Friday's win over Sioux Falls. That marks  a program-high for the Mavericks dating back to at least 2011. Junior Krista Hassing [Blue Earth, Minn.] led MSU with a new career-high of 12 total blocks, while Ellie Van De Steeg and junior Lexi Platz [Lafayette, Minn.] each recorded career-highs as well with seven and six, respectively. Sophomore Vikolia Meade [Solon, Iowa] also added six total blocks in the win.

Balanced Offensive Attack: In the Mavericks five set win over Sioux Falls last Friday, MSU had five players reach seven kills or more. The attack was led by Krista Hassing who posted a match-high 21 kills, followed by Lexi Platz with 13 kills, freshman Nevena Vukomanovich [Maplewood, Minn.] collected 10 kills, junior Sydney Geisness [St. Croix Falls, Wis.] tallied nine kills and Vikolia Meade pitched in with seven kills.

Statistically Speaking: Through 13 matches, the Mavericks rank fourth in the NSIC in attack percentage with a .246 clip and fifth in opponent hitting percentage with a mark of .165. MSU also sits in fourth in the conference in blocks per set with 2.41, seventh in assists per set with 12.55, and ninth in kills per set with 13.22. 

Continued Dominance: Junior middle blocker Krista Hassing is continuing to build off her impressive sophomore season. The Blue Earth, Minn. native is first in the NSIC in total kills with 227 and also leads the NSIC in kills per set at 4.63 and points per set with 5.58.  Hassing also sits in fourth in the NSIC total blocks with 62. 

Nationally, Hassing ranks second in Division II in points per set, fourth in kills per set, sixth in total kills and 16th in total blocks.

Receiving Votes: In the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 poll, the Mavericks are receiving 13 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 continues to rise up the career list as she currently sits with 4,115 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 10.90.
 

Rank	Name (Years Played)	Career Assists
1	Brittany Stamer (2008-11)	4,718
2	Jen Blenderman (1999-2002)	4,367
3	Ellie Van De Steeg (2012-Present)	4,115
4	Heidi Schnagl (1991-94)	3,963
5	Nichole Roethig (1995-98)	3,804
6	Stef Sandtrom (2204-07)	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 1,082 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)	1,082
10	Ashley Nachreiner (2005-08)	1,036
11	Jessica Oolman (2000-03)	1,017