Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University volleyball team will travel to Tampa, Fla., to open its regular season schedule. This will be the first time since 2007 that the Mavericks will begin the season in the state of Florida. 

On the first day of action, MSU will face Franklin Pierce at 10:00 a.m., before taking on Pitt-Johnstown at 4:45 p.m. On the final day of competition, the Mavericks will square off against Henderson State at 12:15 p.m., and close the weekend with Tampa at 7:00 p.m.

Leading the team this season will be second year head coach Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth. Minnesota state finished the 2015 campaign with a 16-13 overall record and 10-10 NSIC conference record, which slotted the Mavericks in eighth place. 

Returning Roster:  The Mavericks return 11 players from their 2015 season, including five seniors: libero Haley Fogarty, libero Rissi McNallan, middle blocker Krista Hassing outside hitter Lexi Platz , and outside hitter Lexi Platz. 

New Faces: Minnesota State will have six new faces on the roster for the 2016 campaign as the Mavericks will have five freshman and one sophomore transfer. The five freshman include: Olivia Wolbert (Milaca, Minn.), Morgan Olson (Annandale, Minn.), Megan Krentz (Henderson, Minn.), Joie Veldman (Spirit Lake, Iowa), and Ashton Lee (Coal Valley, Ill.). Sophomore Payton Schultz (Fairbault, Minn.) has also joined the Mavericks. 

Preseason Outlook: For the third consecutive season the Mavericks are picked to finish eighth out of 16 teams in the 2016 NSIC Volleyball Preseason coaches poll. Concordia-St. Paul was picked to finish in the top spot for the second season in a row. Hassing was named as Minnesota State's player to watch going into the 2016 campaign. 

Conference Honors:  Hassing will return as the only Maverick to have earned honors from the 2015 season after being named to the D2CCA All-Central Region second team and earning a honorable mention on the AVCA Division II All-America list. 

Hassing led Minnesota State with 431 kills and a .320 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, she notched a team-high 115 blocks. Hassing finished the regular season ranked third in kills per set (4.14) and fifth in blocks per set (1.11) in the NSIC. 

By The Numbers: As a team in 2015, Minnesota State averaged 13 kills per set, while opponents averaged 11.9 kills per set. The Mavericks were relatively even with opponents in assists per set, aces per set, and digs per set.  The Mavericks averaged 12.1 assists per set, 1.2 aces per set, and 14.5 digs per set. 

Scouting Franklin Pierce:  Franklin Pierce is located in Rindge, N.H., and is coming off a 18-11 overall record and a 12-2 conference record in 2015. The Ravens are members of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) and placed second overall in the conference last season. Franklin Pierce advanced to the NCAA East Regional Quarterfinal before falling to Dowling, 3-0. The Ravens are coached by Stephanie Dragan, who enters eighth season at the helm with a record of 97-97. 

As a team last season, Franklin Pierce ranked second in digs with 2,222 in the NE-10. The Ravens also finished third in kills (1381) and blocks (219) in the NE-10. Additionally, Franklin Pierce posted a 12.1 kill per set average with a .177 hitting percentage.  

Franklin Pierce returns the NE-10 Rookie of the Year, Katie Leidhold, who posted 3.04 kills per set and 4.03 digs per set, to lead the conference. Leidhold was also named to the All NE-10 first team and unanimous selection to the NE-10 All-Rookie team. Alden Garcia was also named to the All NE-10 first team while Hannah Runge was named to the second team. Abigall Sonuga joined Leidhold on the All-Rookie team. 

Scouting Pitt-Johnstown:  Pitt-Johnstown is located in Johnstown , Pa., and are coming off a 29-7 overall record and 19-3 conference record. The Mountain Cats are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), and won the eastern division in 2015. Pitt-Johnstown advanced to the NCAA  Atlantic Region Tournament quarterfinals before falling to No. 7 West Chester University, 3-1. Joanna Haupt is entering her fourth season as head coach and carries 74-31 overall record. 

Last season as a team the Mountain Cats led the PSAC in  hitting percentage (.231) , assists per set (12.34) and service aces per set (1.98). 

UPJ is led by junior middle hitter Kendall Mahony, who was named the PSAC East Player of the Year. Mahony posted a team-best hitting percentage (.343), solo blocks (20) and total blocks (88).Also returning for the Mountain Lions is junior libero Devan Orr, who earned PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. Orr posted a team-high in total digs (703), digs per set (6.39) and service aces (50). Junior outside hitter Cambria Wierman rounds out the top returning players after being selected to the first team All-PSAC East while also earning a spot on the AVCA Atlantic Region second team. Wierman led UPJ in kills (371) and kills per set (3.09). 

Scouting Henderson State: Henderson State is located in Arkadelphia, Ark., And are coming off a 4-25 overall record and 2-14 conference record. The Reddies are members of the Great American Conference (GAC) and finished in last place during the 2015 season. Kristee Porter is entering her second season at the helm and holds a 4-25 overall record. 

Last season the Reddies posted a .095 hitting percentage and averaged 8.9 assists per set. On the defensive end, HSU totaled 12.5 digs per set and 1.0 blocks per set during the 2015 season. 

Senior Jessie Jacoby will lead the Reddies after being named an All-Great American Conference honorable mention. Jacoby started all 29 matches and posted a team-best 351 kills. In addition, she averaged 3.58 kills per set  and totaled 173 during the 2015 season. 

Scouting Tampa: Tampa is located in Tampa, Fla. and are coming off an 27-6 overall season and 15-1 conference record in 2015. The Spartans are members of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) and won their 11th consecutive conference championship during the 2015 season. UT advanced to the NCAA South Regional before falling to No. 21 Fla. Southern, 3-2. 

Tampa enters the season ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II coaches poll and is picked to finish in a tie for first with Florida Southern in the SCC. The Spartans are led by head coach Chris Catanach ,who is entering his 33rd season. Catanch holds a career record of 999-173 and  guided the Spartans national titles in both the 2006 and 2014 seasons.

Last season UT led the SCC in hitting percentage (.281), assists per set (13.13), kills per set (14.17) and blocks per set (2.38). 

Alle Stelogeannis will be a top returner for the Spartans this season after notching 179 kills last season and a .186 hitting percentage. Demery Zachery will be a player to watch on the defensive end  after blocking 52 total shots in 2015 to lead all returners.