MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State volleyball team (5-11, 3-5 NSIC) defeated Minnesota Crookston (3-13, 1-7) 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 25-14) on Friday. The Mavericks finished with 63 kills and a .299 hitting percentage while holding the Golden Eagles to 45 kills and a .187 mark.
"Good win tonight," said Head Coach
Corey Phelps. "Crookston battled and did good things defensively. Our middles and right sides were outstanding contributing 45 of our 63 kills. It's a step in the right direction for our team."
Avery Klein finished with a season-high 20 kills while hitting .472 and totaled 20.5 points.
Jadyn Lester recorded 41 assists, 13 digs, four blocks and a service ace.
Olivia Sturgis added 12 kills on a .375 hitting percentage, six total blocks and 15.5 points.
Kyla Klein collected a team-high 14 digs.
Avery Rosenberg reached a career milestone of 101 total blocks, including three in the current game.
SET ONE
The Mavericks took the first three points of the opening set behind two Sturgis kills and an
Avery Klein kill, all set by Lester. Minnesota Crookston worked back from an 11-7 deficit and tied the set at 12-12 on a Minnesota State service error and a bad set, but the Mavericks answered with kills by Klein
, Addison Foor and Klein again for a 15-12 lead. The Mavericks kept the margin from closing after that, moving ahead 20-15 on a Golden Eagle's bad set and reaching set point at 24-18 on another Klein kill. After a service error, Rosenberg finished the set with a kill from Lester for a 25-19 Minnesota State win.
SET TWO
An early block from
Avery Klein and Sturgis, a Lester ace, an
Ellery Apel ace, and kills from
Lily Riese, Klein, Sturgis and Rosenberg helped the Mavericks move ahead 7-2 in the second set. The Golden Eagles cut the margin to 12-11 with three straight points, but Sturgis answered with two kills around a block by Foor and Sturgis to push the Mavericks back in front 15-11. The teams traded points until the Mavericks created separation at 20-16, then
Emily Clausen, Morgan Bjella and Sturgis helped the Mavericks reach set point at 24-16. Minnesota Crookston scored the next four points, but Sturgis' block on a Lexi Scharold attack error closed the set for the Mavericks, 25-20.
SET THREE
A Riese kill from Lester opened the third set for the Mavericks, but the Golden Eagles took the next four points and moved ahead 4-1 on a Madison Carsten kill and two blocks involving Lexi Scharold. The Mavericks got back within 7-5 on consecutive Golden Eagle attack errors, the second credited as a Clausen block, before Minnesota Crookston pushed the lead to 15-7 with Carizma Muth supplying two kills and Ellery Ehresmann serving an ace. Kills by Clausen, Riese,
Avery Klein and Sturgis helped the Mavericks narrow the gap to 16-13, but the Golden Eagles scored the next three points for a 19-13 lead. The Mavericks stayed within 21-18 on a Lester kill and a block by Rosenberg and Lester, then fought off two set points on kills by Sturgis and Riese before Carsten's kill closed Minnesota Crookston's 25-21 set win.
SET FOURTH
After trailing 2-1 in the fourth set, the Mavericks got back-to-back kills from
Avery Klein to move ahead 3-2, and after the Golden Eagles tied it at 3-3, kills by Klein, Rosenberg and Foor helped build a 7-3 lead. Minnesota Crookston cut the margin to 8-7, but Riese answered with a kill, Sturgis and Jadyn combined on a block, and Sturgis added a kill as the Mavericks pushed the advantage back to 11-7. The Mavericks later turned a 14-11 lead into a 19-12 cushion, getting two Klein kills and back-to-back blocks involving Lester during that stretch, then closed from 22-14 on consecutive Lester kills and a Bjella service ace for a 25-14 set win.
Up next, the Mavericks host MSU Moorhead on Saturday at noon at Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.
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