MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State volleyball wrapped up its 2023 season with a win against MSU Moorhead, finishing with a record of 14-12 and a conference record of 9-9. The Mavericks narrowly missed the NSIC Tournament, finishing in eighth place, but tied with Sioux Falls, who had the same conference record but held the tiebreaker over Minnesota State.

Minnesota State won eight more games (four more in conference) this season versus last fall, plus the Mavericks had two players earn player of the week honors (first since 2018). Minnesota State also had two players earn NSIC All-Conference honors.

The Mavericks started their season competing at the Otter Volleyball Invitational hosted by Cal State Monterey Bay and the Tiger Classic hosted by Fort Hays State. Between the first two nonconference tournaments, Minnesota State started 5-3, winning five straight matches during that run.

Minnesota State started NSIC play 4-4, losing its first four conference matches against Southwest Minnesota State, Winona State, Concordia-St. Paul and Augustana, then proceeded to win four straight versus UMary, Minot State, MSU Moorhead and Northern State.

The Mavericks' biggest win this season was against Minnesota Duluth in Duluth. The Bulldogs were the No. 10 team in the nation and Minnesota State upset them on their home court for the first time since 2011. In that match, Sophie Tietz had 11 kills, two aces and eight blocks, Emma Loveall had 11 kills, three aces and three blocks and Kiya Durant had five kills and seven blocks. Durant earned conference defensive player of the week honors that week for her efforts to lift the Mavericks over the top defensively against a top-10 team.

Kern also earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors after averaging two blocks per set versus Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. Over the course of the two matches, Kern had 14 blocks. 2023 marked the first time a Minnesota State Maverick earned NSIC Player of the Week honors since 2018.

The Minnesota State side of the net was heavily protected by a three-headed monster made up of Durant, Kern and Tietz. Durant and Kern both finished the 2023 season just shy of 100 total blocks, with 99 and 98 blocks, respectively. Those two finished fourth and fifth in total blocks in the NSIC. Tietz ranked tenth with 91 total blocks. The Mavericks were the best blocking team in the NSIC in 2023, blocking 2.5 shots per set..

The Minnesota State offense ran through Tietz; the senior right side hitter led the team in kills with 245 and service aces with 42. Her aces total ranks fifth in the NSIC and her kills total is top-20 in the conference. Durant was second on the team in kills with 174 and had a .332 hitting percentage. Toryn Richards had 167 kills in 2023. Emma Loveall had 161 kills and 25
aces. Libero Ellie Kline had 26 aces.

Kline was the Mavericks leading serve-receiver in 2023, with 397 digs. Brooke Bolwerk was second on the team in digs with 200. Richards had 163 digs.
Bolwerk, Makayla Snow and Skylar Walters all shared setting duties, dealing out over 900 assists. Bolwerk led the team with 603. Snow and Walters had 174 and 130 assists, respectively.

"I think we made some solid strides this year," said Minnesota State head coach Corey Phelps. "We learned a great deal in our successes as well as our defeats. We return a great deal of experienced athletes next fall, all of whom have a clearer understanding of what it will take to reach our potential as a team moving forward. We expect to take more steps in climbing the conference and regional ladder next season."