Indianapolis, Ind. – The Minnesota State volleyball team took part in day one of the UIndy Invitational falling to Ashland University (3-1) and Missouri - St. Louis (3-0).
Minnesota State owns a 1-5 record to start the season.
Minnesota State began the day with a 3-1 loss (25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22) against Ashland.
Sophomore
Emma Loveall led the Maverick offense with 13 kills, and she was followed closely by junior
Sophie Tietz who recorded 12 kills. Junior
Makayla Snow passed out 22 assists, while sophomore
Kiya Durant led the team with five blocks. Three Mavericks posted 13 digs or more in the match including freshman
Maci Higgins who led the team with 17.
AU's Erin Krupar led all attackers with 16 kills. Zoey Peck passed a match-high of 45 assists, while Katie Thompson posted 26 digs.
Ashland never trailed during the first set as it claimed a 25-17 win. By the mid-point of the set the Mavericks trailed 15-14 but the Eagles would go on a 6-1 run to jump out in front 21-15. The Mavericks would get two points, but Ashland would get the final four points to close the first set.
The second set remained close early on, but MSU was able to build a five-point lead at 19-14 after back-to-back kills from Loveall and freshman
Emily Kern. Ashland responded with a 7-2 run, which included six kills, to tie the score at 21-21. Three AU attack errors and a kill from Loveall would give the Mavericks the 25-23 win in the second set.
In the third set the Eagles led by many as four points several times including when they built a 23-19 lead towards the end of the set. The Mavericks answered with three straight points which included kills by Tietz and sophomore
Toryn Richards to bring the score to 23-22. Ashland was able to get the last two points of the set to claim the 25-22 win.
On the last set the Mavericks led early on by four points at 12-8 but the Eagles fought back with a 10-2 run to take the lead at 18-14. MSU managed to get back within one point at 22-21 but Ashland got three of the last four points to close out the set and the match with a 25-22 win.
Minnesota State finished day one with a loss against Missouri – St. Louis (25-21, 25-12, 25-22).
Tietz recorded nine kills for the Mavericks and Snow had 20 assists. Durant led the team with seven blocks.
UMSL was led by Lexie Rang with 11 kills and Caitlin Bishop had 18 assists.
The Tritons jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but the Mavericks would go on a 9-4 run to pull within one at 12-11. The Mavericks would not be able to overtake the Tritons in the first set as UMSL carried to a 25-21 win.
During the second set the Mavericks trailed the Tritons 8-7 early, but Missouri – St. Louis finished strong with a 17-5 run to wrap up the set 25-12.
In the third set the Mavericks jumped out to an early 7-2 lead only to see the Tritons tie the score at 7-7. The lead changed four more times as both teams were tied at 20-20. The Mavericks got the next two points but Missouri - St. Louis would close out the set with a 5-0 run to take the set 25-22 and the match.
Minnesota State wraps up the UIndy Invitational on Saturday as it takes on Indianapolis at 8:00 a.m., and Grand Valley State at 2:00 p.m. Both match times are listed in Central Standard Time.
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