MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State (3-0) won both of its matches on the second day of the Maverick Invite, hosted in the Taylor Center. The Mavericks came back against Truman State to take the match in five sets thanks to a career match for senior outside hitter Emma Loveall. In game two, MSU swept the Rangers of UW-Parkside in three sets. Seniors Toryn Richards and Kiya Durant played great, combining for 21 kills and eight blocks in the match.
 
 
Match 1 vs Truman State: MSU 3, TSU 2
The Mavericks dominated the start of the match. Durant had five booming kills to lead Minnesota State during a 10-4 run that put the team up 17-0 over TSU. The Bulldogs committed several errors in the first set, and, because of great communication, the Mavericks were able to take the first set confidently, 25-16. Freshmen Jadyn Lester and Avery Klein connected on the last two kills of the set to seal it.
 
Truman State jumped out to an early 7-4 advantage in the second set, thanks to a pair of aces from sophomore Tori Creason. After the Mavericks tied the game at seven-a-piece, the Bulldogs responded with a strong 5-0 run. Minnesota State was playing catch-up, getting the score within one before TSU went on another 6-1 run to make the score 20-14 in favor of the Bulldogs. Before its final point, Truman State scored on five different errors from Maverick players. The Bulldogs won the second set 25-19, which tied the match.
 
After a back-and-forth start to set three, the Mavericks tied up the score at 8-8 thanks to three consecutive kills from Richards. Minnesota State went on a 4-0 run to make the score 12-9. The Mavericks shared the rock, with Loveall, Durant and Richards each recording a kill during the run. The Bulldogs responded with a run of their own, this time a 7-2 streak the gave Truman State the two-point lead.
 
Following a pair of points from the Mavericks, TSU closed out the set on a dominant 9-3 run, taking the set 25-19. The pressure was on.
 
Minnesota State charged out to a 5-1 lead to start the fourth set. The Bulldogs tied the score at 6-6 thanks to a fake set from Creason that fell for a point. The two teams continued to wail on each other; both squads went on their own respective 5-1 runs to keep the score tied.
 
Following more rally scoring, the Mavericks took a two-point lead following a Bulldog attack that was caught by the net, making the score 18-16. Truman State recaptured the lead off three errors by Minnesota State. The teams traded blows until Loveall closed out the set for the Mavericks, contributing three-straight kills to seal the set and send the match to a fifth. MSU won the fourth set 25-23.
 
A kill from Loveall and an ace from Richards put Minnesota State up 5-2 in the early goings of the final set. But as they always seemed to, the Bulldogs fought back and took the lead, 6-5, thanks to a nice pair of kills from Autumn Erickson and Laci Neece for TSU. The Mavericks went on a short run of their own to make it an 8-6 game. Loveall smacked two high-velocity kills over the net to maintain the two-point lead for the Mavericks. After allowing a trio of kills from the Bulldog side of the net, the Mavericks capitalized on the mistakes of their counterparts, scoring four consecutive points on attack errors, including a booming block from Emily Kern and Klein. Senior Maverick libero Ellie Kline iced the match with a service ace to end the thrilling match, 15-11.
 
 As a team, the Mavericks tallied 65 kills, 94 digs, 59 assists and eight aces in the game against Truman State.
 
Minnesota State had three players with 10+ kills. Loveall recorded a career-high 16 kills in the win while hitting .250 and contributing on a block assist. Richards ended the match with 15 kills and 20 digs. Klein tallied 11 kills in her second match as a Maverick with an attacking percentage of .265.
 
Kline tallied 28 digs and three service aces against the Bulldogs. Kern ended with three total blocks to lead MSU. Avery Rosenberg and Durant each had a pair of blocks themselves. Senior setter Brooke Bolwerk finished the match with 31 assists and Lester ended with 24. Madisen Miller was key for Minnesota State in the win, rotating in and contributing 16 digs and solid work from the service line. She ended with two aces.
 
Truman State had two players, Makayla Way and Michaela Goad, record nine kills each in Saturday's loss to the Mavericks. Erickson finished with a match-high four blocks.
 
 
Match 2 vs UW-Parkside: MSU 3, UWP 0
The Rangers jumped out to a strong 7-2 lead before Minnesota State got settled into the match, thanks to Sam Fisch and Elle Truckenbrod, who each had three kills in the early stages of the first set. The Mavericks weren't wavered by the early deficit, making it a tug-of-war match. MSU brought it back within one thanks to kills from Richards and Loveall, but the Rangers continued to extend their lead to 17-13. After a Parkside service error, the Mavericks went on a 4-1 run to bring the deficit to one again, but the Rangers kept on trucking, pulling off an identical run to make the score 21-17.
 
Minnesota State would capture momentum and the lead thanks to a six-point run led by Abby Wolfe, Loveall and Durant. Wolfe had a kill and a block during the Maverick takeover, while Durant and Loveall each had one block and one kill in that stretch, respectively. A kill from Fisch would tie the game at 23-23, but the Bolwerk-Loveall connection resulted in two straight kills, giving the Mavericks the first set victory.
 
This time, it was the Mavericks who took an early lead, going up 3-1. After trading points, Minnesota State would take a commanding 12-7 lead in the set, then proceed to go on a five-point streak to give the Mavericks a nine-point lead and force a UW-Parkside timeout.
 
After both teams traded scores, the Rangers would go on a four-point barrage of their own to put the score at 21-16. Two straight kills from Richards forced a match-point and Kern finished off the set with a kill that found its spot on the hardwood between the Ranger defenders. Minnesota State won the second set 25-18.
 
UW-Parkside would take the first lead of the third set, going up 6-3 after two Maverick errors. The Rangers continued to take advantage of Minnesota State's mistakes, taking a five-point advantage. The Mavericks remained resilient and blasted a 7-1 run to take the lead, 11-10, from the Rangers' hands.
 
The Rangers tied the game at 11-a-piece, then MSU went on another scoring streak, this time a 8-3 run, which made the score 19-14 in favor of the home team. After some back-and-forth scoring, the Mavericks had the Rangers against the wall with the score resting at 24-18 thanks to a kill from Klein. UW-Parkside scored six consecutive points to come back and tie the game at 24-24. A kill from Fisch and a service ace from Sierra Marshall gave the Rangers a 26-25 lead, but a Loveall kill set up by Bolwerk notched up the score again. A kill from Wolfe and a bad set from the Parkside setter would give the Mavericks a 28-27 lead with the chance to close it out, but the resilient Rangers would tie the game on yet another kill from Fisch. A service error for UWP would give the ball back to Loveall, who found the space and sent an ace over the net, securing the match victory for Minnesota State. The Mavericks won the final set 30-28.
 
MSU finished game two with 42 kills, 10 blocks, 41 assists and 57 digs as a team.
 
Richards was the leading hitter for the Mavericks in the second game, recording 17 kills, while also contributing great hustle with 12 digs. Loveall ended the match with nine kills, three total blocks and an ace. Durant led all blockers, tallying six total blocks against Parkside. She also had four kills. Kline finished the match with 15 digs, which tied the match-high.
 
Fisch for the Rangers recorded 16 kills in the match and Karlee Lois had 26 assists.
 
"I think we learned that we have the ability to win, regardless of the opponent, if we stay mentally locked in," said Minnesota State head coach, Corey Phelps. "Even when it was ugly, we kept grinding, we didn't fold when we met adversity or fatigue, and we stayed in the moment. I couldn't be prouder."
 
"She was able to figure out what was working for her," said Phelps about Loveall's performance, "and she just kept going back to it. She was tearing the line shot up, over and over."
 
When asked about the composure of the team, Phelps replied "We are learning how to be resilient. Last year, we often weren't in similar situations. But right now, we are making the most of the moment and working throughout the chaos of the game."
 
Minnesota State plays one more game in the Maverick Invite. Tomorrow, September 7 at 2 p.m., the Mavericks take on Northern Michigan, who won both of its contests on day two of the tournament.