MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State volleyball team (15-6) will begin this week hosting #6 Concordia-St. Paul on Thursday, Halloween night, with first serve scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Saturday, the Mavericks will travel to Winona, Minn. to take on the #16 Warriors at 2:00 p.m. Minnesota State will return home for a Monday night matchup against #22 Upper Iowa in Mankato, Minn., with first serve scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Mavericks at a Glance: The Mavericks enter the week with a 15-6 (8-5 NSIC) overall record after splitting a pair of matches against #3 Northern State and MSU Moorhead Friday night, Minnesota State came up short in a bid to upset the Wolves 3-1, before sweeping the Dragons Saturday afternoon.
Impact Mavericks: Minnesota State is being led on offense by senior outside hitter
Morgan Olson who has recorded 306 kills (4.64/s) while adding 42 blocks. Sophomore setter
Dana Schindler leads the way in assists with 679 (9.99/s). Seniors
Ashton Lee and
Anissa Janzig have recorded 49 and 62 blocks, respectively, on the defensive end.
Bring Out the Brooms: Minnesota State has recorded nine sweeps so far this season.
By the Numbers: This season, the Mavericks have recorded 13.6 kills per set compared to its opponents 11.8. Additionally, Minnesota State is adding 12.7 assists per set and 14.0 digs per set.
Scouting #6 Concordia-St. Paul: Concordia-St. Paul is located in St. Paul, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Bears are currently 17-4 on the season with an 11-2 conference record and ranked sixth in the nation. Concordia-St. Paul is coached by Brady Starkey who is in his 17th year with the team.
As a team this season, Concordia-St. Paul is averaging 14.3 kills per set compared to its opponents 11.8. Additionally, the Golden Bears average 13.5 assists per set and 14.2 digs per frame.
Concordia-St. Paul is led on offense by Jasmine Mulvihill who has recorded 301 kills on the season. Payton Nutter is the primary setter for the team and has 730 assists this season.
Last season, the Mavericks and Golden Bears faced off twice with Concordia-St. Paul earning 3-0 and 3-1 wins.
Scouting #16 Winona State: Winona State is located in Winona, Minn., and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Warriors are 17-4 this season with a 9-4 conference record and are currently ranked 16th in the Nation. Winona State is led by head coach Joe Getzin who is currently in his sixth year with the team.
As a team this season, the Warriors average 13.8 kills per set while their opponents notch 11.4. Winona State also averages 12.5 assists per set and 15.6 digs per set.
Megan Flom leads the Warrior offense with 259 kills on the season. Bre Maloney is the primary setter for Winona State, having recorded 764 assists.
Last season, the Mavericks faced off with the Warriors once, earning a 3-2 victory over Winona State.
Scouting #22 Upper Iowa: Upper Iowa is located in Fayette, Iowa, and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Peacocks are 15-6 this season with a 7-6 conference record and are currently ranked 22nd in the nation. Upper Iowa is led by head coach Aaron Nelson who is currently in his ninth year with the team.
As a team this season, the Peacocks average 13.6 kills per set while their opponents notch 11.4. Upper Iowa also averages 12.6 assists per set and 17.1 digs per set.
Anna Winter leads the Peacock offense with 333 kills and has recorded 30 blocks on the season. Carlee Ketchum is the primary setter for Upper Iowa, having recorded 798 assists.
Earlier this season, the Mavericks faced off with the Peacocks and defeated them 3-1 in Fayette, Iowa. In that match, Morgan Olson led all players with 19 kills and Minnesota State recorded nine service aces.
Looking Ahead: Minnesota State will travel to St. Cloud, Minn., Friday evening for a match with the Huskies before trekking to Duluth, Minn., to face off with the Bulldogs Saturday. Friday's first serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., while Saturday's action will begin at 2:00 p.m.
