MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State women's volleyball (12-3, 4-3 NSIC) defeated the Minot State Beavers (1-13, 0-7 NSIC) Friday evening at the Taylor Center, 3-0. Toryn Richards led the way with 13 kills and freshman Jadyn Lester finished with four service aces and 12 assists in the sweep.
 
Minnesota State went on a 6-2 run after falling behind early to make the score 7-5 in favor of the home team. Minot State rebounded with a 5-0 run of its own, taking a 10-7 lead. Madelynn Boop had three-straight kills in that stretch for the Beavers. The Mavericks would knot the score back up on a kill from freshman Avery Klein, which was part of 9-2 run for Minnesota State, which put the team up 16-12 on Minot State. Senior middle blocker Kiya Durant had three blocks on that run, including two solo blocks.
 
A pair of kills from Klein and one from Richards put the Mavericks up 20-14. After a 3-0 run for Minot State to bring the Maverick lead back to three, Minnesota State closed out set one 25-19. In the final five points of the set, Durant had a block and a kill and graduate senior Emma Loveall also had a kill. Minnesota State hit .306 in the first set.
 
The Mavericks once again had to cut back into the Beaver lead, as Minot State started set two up 5-3. MSU went on a run to take the lead back thanks to kills from Loveall, Durant and Richards, but the Beavers tied it up at 7-7. A 6-2 run for Minot State gave the Beavers a three-point lead, which they would keep until the Mavericks willed their way back to tie the score at 15-15.
 
Following a kill from Boop, Minnesota State went on a 7-1 run to give the Mavericks a 22-17 lead. Richards had three-consecutive kills to give MSU the lead. The Beavers kept it interesting, as the team closed out the set on a 5-2 run, but the Maverick lead was too great. The home team took set two by a score of 25-22 off a fake-set kill from Lester.
 
Unlike the previous two sets, the Mavericks jumped out to an early 11-3 lead in the third set. Lester had three-straight aces from the service line that forced a Beaver timeout. The break was just what Minot State needed; the team went on an 8-3 run to cut into its deficit which put the score at 14-11.
 
The two teams traded scores back-and-forth until the Mavericks pulled away on a quick 6-1 run to put the score at 23-16. Despite another kill from Boop, Minnesota State would pull out the victory 25-17 in set three, securing the 12^th win for the Mavericks this season.
 
Minnesota State finished with 44 kills while hitting .264, five aces, six total blocks, 37 assists and 53 digs in the match against Minot State. The Beavers had three more blocks than the Mavericks in the match.
 
Richards led the team in kills with 13; she also had nine digs and a service ace against the Beavers. Klein ended the match with nine kills. Durant had six kills and four total blocks, which led the team. Lester, like Richards, also finished with nine digs against Minot State; the freshman also had four service aces, bringing her season total to 26, and also had 12 assists. Senior setter Brooke Bolwerk led the team in assists with 19; she also had eight digs. Libero Ellie Kline led the team with 11 digs in the match.
 
The Mavericks are back in action tomorrow, Saturday Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. against the Marauders of UMary (2-12, 0-6 NSIC) in the Taylor Center on the Minnesota State campus. The Marauders defeated Minnesota State in Mankato last season in a five-set heartbreaker on Senior Day. MSU looks to take revenge tomorrow afternoon.