WINONA, Minn. – Minnesota State volleyball (16-6, 8-6 NSIC) defeated the Winona State Warriors (15-10, 8-6 NSIC) in McCown Gymnasium Saturday evening in a four-set match, 3-1. The Mavericks finished the match with 13 team blocks and junior middle blocker Emily Kern had eight total blocks against WSU, which tied her career best. With the win, the Mavericks move firmly into sixth place in the NSIC.
 
After beginning the match with a three-point lead, the Mavericks were able to maintain it until the score was 8-5 in the first set thanks to a big first kill from Kiya Durant. Minnesota State followed up a Warrior kill with a 3-0 run to make the score 11-6, which forced a timeout from the home bench. Kern had a solo block and Durant capped off the run with an ace. A 7-2 run for Winona State out of the break tied the set at 13-13, but the Mavericks pulled away on a 5-1 run after the teams traded points to force another WSU timeout. The run was made possible by a pair of solo blocks from Durant and Toryn Richards with a service ace from Madisen Miller to top it off and make the score 19-15.
 
Winona State had another good push out of the break; the Warriors went on a 3-0 run to cut their deficit to 20-18, which forced a Minnesota State timeout. After a pair of points for the home team, freshman Avery Klein held off WSU with a pair of kills to keep the Warriors down two, then combined with Kern for a block to force a set-point. A bad set for Winona State gave Minnesota State the victory in set one, 25-22. Klein led the team with four kills in the opening set and Kern had four total blocks in the first, two solo and two assists.
 
The Warriors jumped out to a 6-1 lead thanks to a trio of MSU errors which forced an early timeout call from Mavericks head coach Corey Phelps. Winona State's Gianna Vollrath had a solo block at the net, but Klein had a kill to get the second point of the set for the Mavericks. A 5-2 run for the home team forced another timeout from the Minnesota State bench with the score at 12-4.

The Mavericks went on a 4-1 run out of the timeout to cut the lead to five; Emma Loveall had a kill and a block assist with Kern during the run. The Warriors went up 16-9 on a 3-1 run thanks to a trio of kills. Winona State committed a few consecutive errors to cut the lead to four for the Mavericks, but the home team extended its lead and closed the set out on a 8-3 run to take the set 25-16.
 
A solo block from Kern, a pair of kills from Klein and two service aces for Kaci Beesecker put Minnesota State up 5-1 early in set three. The Warriors scored three-straight points to cut the Maverick lead to one and tied the set at 6-6, but a trio of kills from Durant and Richards put MSU back up by three, 9-6. The two teams traded service back-and-forth until the senior duo of Durant and Richards combined for a block to put the score at 16-13. A Miller ace put Minnesota State up 18-15 and forced a timeout from the home bench.
 
Each team scored two out of the break; Loveall and Kern each had a kill for the Mavericks to put the team up 20-17. A service error for MSU and a Warrior ace forced a Minnesota state timeout and cut its lead to one. A monster kill from Klein put the Mavericks up 22-20 and a block from her and Kern kept the team up by two following a Warrior kill. Winona State tied the score at 23-23 thanks to a fake set kill by the team's setter, Jaci Winchell, and an ace from the service line. Both teams made attack errors to keep the score knotted up, 24-24. Richards hit a kill over the net and Durant closed out the set with a huge block to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead, 26-24. Minnesota State hit .270 and six blocks in the third set.
 
The fourth set was tightly contested to start, as no team could garner more than a one-point lead over the other until a Loveall kill put the team up 6-4. MSU went up 9-6 on a ball handling error from Winona State. After some back-and-forth, a solo block from Durant put Minnesota State up 13-9 and forced the Warriors to take a timeout. A pair of kills from Richards and Klein put the Mavericks up by six. A service ace from Klein forced the second Winona State timeout of the set as the Mavericks went up 17-11.
 
A kill from Loveall put Minnesota State up 20-12 late in the fourth. Kenna Kornely had a kill and an ace to cut into the Maverick lead. The Warriors put up three-straight kills and Minnesota State called a timeout with the score at 21-17. Loveall hit her ninth kill of the match to put the Mavericks back up by five. The graduate outside hitter and Kern combined for a block to put MSU up 23-17 and a ball handling error for Winona State forced a match-point. The Warriors regained possession after a kill, but a service error ended the match. Minnesota State won its second matchup of the season against the Warriors, 3-1, after defeating the home team 25-18 in the fourth set. Despite a great .333 hit percentage in the final set for Winona State, the Mavericks hit an outstanding .517 to close out the match.
 
Minnesota State ended the match with 48 kills while hitting .213, 46 assists, six service aces and 67 digs. The Mavericks dominated the net with 13 total blocks compared to just four from the Warriors.
 
Klein led the Mavericks in kills with 14. The freshman also had 11 digs, two block assists and an ace. Richards was right behind her with 13 kills; the senior finished with her highest hit percentage of the year with a .385. She also contributed a solo block and a block assist at the net.
 
Loveall ended the match with nine kills and three block assists. Durant recorded eight kills with a .333 hitting percentage, an ace, three solo blocks and a block assist. Kern was the star of the show at the net against Winona State; the junior middle recorded eight total blocks, three solo and five assists. She also had four kills.
 
Senior setter Brooke Bolwerk led the team with 42 assists and finished second in digs with 14. Senior libero Ellie Kline led the Mavericks with 17 digs. Both Miller and Beesecker ended the game with two aces.
 
"We knew going in that they would have a chip on their shoulder from losing to us earlier in the season," said Coach Phelps. "We talked before the match about the necessity of it being a full team win and that's exactly what it was. Brooke did great things in and out of system, Toryn was great at the net and our defense was stellar when it needed to be. We have a big week to get ready for our next two matches. We are taking it one day at a time, working hard as we go."
 
Minnesota State is back home at the Taylor Center next week for its final two home matches of the season. First, the Mavericks will face the top team in the NSIC, the No. 3 St. Cloud State Huskies (21-2, 15-0 NSIC) on Friday, November 8 at 6 p.m. Minnesota State fell in a four-set match in the team's conference season opener back on September 19. Then, on Saturday, November 9 at 3 p.m., the Mavericks have another rematch, this time against the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth (14-9, 7-8 NSIC). MSU defeated UMD in Duluth in a three-set sweep back on October 8. Saturday's match against the Bulldogs will also be Senior Day for the Mavericks.