MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State volleyball team (6-11, 4-5 NSIC) defeated MSU Moorhead (10-8, 3-6 NSIC) 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-23) on Saturday at Taylor Center. The Mavericks used an 8-0 run in the third set to move from an 11-11 tie to a 19-11 lead and finished with 55 kills while hitting .232.
Avery Klein led Minnesota State with 19 kills while hitting .457 and added seven digs. Klein has recorded at least 19 kills in two consecutive games.
Jadyn Lester recorded 43 assists, 11 digs, two service aces and three blocks. Lester reached the milestone of 500 set assists, totaling 502.
Olivia Sturgis finished with 14 kills on a .375 hitting percentage and added three blocks
. Ellery Apel collected a team-high 13 digs and added one service ace.
SET ONE
After MSU Moorhead scored the opening point, the Mavericks answered with four straight, getting a
Lily Riese kill, an
Addison Foor block assist and a
Kyla Klein service ace to move ahead 4-1. Foor recorded three blocks, exceeding their season average of 1.0.
Kyla Klein achieved a season-high of three serve aces. Minnesota State still led 7-4 before MSU Moorhead scored eight straight points, using kills from Sonja Lind and Ruby Bones along with a Brooke Bowen ace to take a 12-7 lead. The Dragons extended the margin to 20-11 before Foor kill and another
Kyla Klein ace helped Minnesota State pull within 20-13.
Avery Klein added three late kills, but Lind finished the set with a kill as MSU Moorhead took the opener 25-16.
SET TWO
Minnesota State traded points early in the second set before MSU Moorhead moved in front 9-6, but
Emily Clausen's kill and three straight
Morgan Bjella service aces put the Mavericks ahead 10-9. Bjella recorded three serve aces, surpassing their season average of 0.92. MSU Moorhead answered with four straight points to lead 13-10 and later 14-12, but Minnesota State scored five of the next six behind a Dragons attack error, a Sturgis kill, an
Avery Klein kill, a
Kyla Klein ace and another
Avery Klein kill to go up 17-15. After Kate Halvorson's kill brought MSU Moorhead within 17-16, MSU took the next four points on a Foor kill, two
Avery Rosenberg kills and a Maci Martini attack error for a 21-16 lead. Rosenberg added two more kills down the stretch, Sturgis made it 24-19, and Lester's block on Raiah Mandell's attack ended the set at 25-19.
SET THREE
MSU Moorhead opened the third set with five straight points, but the Mavericks answered with six in a row, using a Sturgis kill, three
Avery Klein kills and a Foor and Sturgis block assist to move ahead 6-5. The teams traded points through an 11-11 tie before Sturgis put down five straight kills as part of an 8-0 Minnesota State run, with
Jadyn Lester adding an ace during the stretch to make it 19-11. MSU Moorhead cut the gap to 21-17 behind two service aces and a Natalie Mix kill, but Minnesota State closed the set with three
Avery Klein kills and a Dragon attack error for a 25-17 win.
SET FOUR
After the Dragons scored the first two points of the fourth set, the Mavericks pulled even at 2-2 on a block by Sturgis and Lester and an MSU Moorhead attack error, and the set stayed tight until kills by Riese helped the Mavericks move in front 11-7. MSU Moorhead cut the gap to 11-10 and later to 14-13, but MSU kept answering, including kills from Foor,
Avery Klein and Rosenberg before Rosenberg's kill and
Kaelyn Wieland's ace pushed the lead to 21-16. MSU Moorhead scored four straight points to get within 21-20 and later tied the set at 22-22, but Sturgis answered with a kill and Lester served an ace to give MSU set point at 24-22. After Raiah Mandell's kill brought MSU Moorhead within 24-23,
Avery Klein finished the set with a kill from Lester to give Minnesota State a 25-23 win.
Up next, the Minnesota State volleyball team visits Minnesota Duluth on Friday at 6 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth, Minn.
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