FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Minnesota State volleyball team lost to No. 9 Fresno Pacific in a thriller 3-2 on Thursday, falling 23-25, 31-29, 10-25, 25-23, 10-15. MSU rallied from a 24-21 deficit to take the lead in the second set, but the push was not enough to prevent the five-set loss.
"Really happy with the fight we showed tonight against a top-10 team, especially after a poor third set by us," said Head Coach
Corey Phelps. "To take control in the fourth set and force the fifth was great to see. The fact that all of our starting hitters had double digit kills speaks to the quality job Jadyn did. Spreading the offense effectively and hitting over .300 against a team that is as solid defensively as FPU is something to be proud of. We are looking forward to two great opponents tomorrow."
Olivia Sturgis led MSU with 18.5 points, recording 16 kills on a .387 hitting percentage with four total blocks.
Avery Rosenberg added 16 kills while hitting .452 and finished with 18.0 points and four total blocks.
Jadyn Lester tallied 48 assists, 15 digs, three total blocks and one service ace.
Avery Klein recorded 11 kills on a .400 hitting percentage with eight digs and three total blocks.
MSU made its biggest push late in the first set, scoring four straight points from 21-17 down as Rosenberg recorded three kills around an
Avery Klein kill to tie it at 21-21. Earlier, MSU recovered from a 3-0 start by Fresno Pacific, getting kills from
Addison Foor,
Avery Klein and Sturgis plus a
Savannah Meyer service ace to stay within 6-5. Fresno Pacific later moved ahead 15-10 on back-to-back Devyn Castaneda aces, but MSU worked back within 18-16 behind kills from Rosenberg and Sturgis and a block by Sturgis and Lester. Klein tied the set again at 22-22, and MSU also pulled even at 23-23 on a Fresno Pacific attack error before Amanda Lauer and Rylee Pitney put down kills for the final two points in a 25-23 Fresno Pacific set win.
The Mavericks erased a 24-21 deficit late in the second set, using a Foor kill, a Meyer kill, a Lester service ace and a Rosenberg kill to move ahead 25-24. Earlier, MSU built a 7-4 edge with help from
Lily Riese and Sturgis, but Fresno Pacific pushed into an 11-11 tie and later stretched the margin to 22-16. MSU responded with Riese, Sturgis and Foor contributing kills during the climb back, then continued trading points through extra play. After Fresno Pacific went up 28-27, MSU took four of the final five points, getting kills from Klein, Sturgis and Foor to finish a 31-29 set win.
Minnesota State spent the third set trying to recover from early separation, as Fresno Pacific built a 7-1 lead and went on to take the set 25-10. Rosenberg and Klein supplied early kills from Lester assists, and Riese added a kill from
Jaelyn LaPlante to make it 8-4. MSU's best scoring response came after falling behind 13-4, when Klein and Riese combined for three straight kills to move the score to 13-7. Sturgis added two later kills, and Foor teamed with Rosenberg on a block at 24-10 before Amanda Lauer closed the set for Fresno Pacific.
MSU held off Fresno Pacific late and closed the fourth set on Riese's kill from Lester for a 25-23 win. Earlier, MSU built a 6-1 lead behind two Klein-Rosenberg blocks, a Foor kill and back-to-back Foor service aces. Fresno Pacific worked back within 8-7 and later 12-11, but MSU kept answering with kills from Klein, Rosenberg and Foor before
Morgan Bjella's ace and Foor kill pushed the score to 17-13. MSU later stretched the margin to 19-14 behind a Riese kill and a block by Sturgis and Lester. After Fresno Pacific cut the margin to 23-22, Sturgis delivered a kill to reach set point, and Riese finished the set after one more Fresno Pacific point.
The Mavericks stayed within reach for most of the deciding set, but Fresno Pacific closed the final three points after the Mavericks had moved within 12-10. Earlier, Foor and Rosenberg combined on a block for MSU's first point, and kills from Riese, Klein and Sturgis kept the margin at one through a 7-6 Fresno Pacific lead. Lester assisted five MSU kills in the set, then added one of her own from Meyer to make it 10-8. MSU got its final two points on Fresno Pacific errors, including one after a service error brought the score to 11-9, before Fresno Pacific finished the set 15-10 on a Madelyn Feramisco kill and two MSU attack errors.
Up next, the MSU volleyball team will face Alaska Anchorage on Friday, at 1 p.m. CT at Alaska Airlines Gymnasium in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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