Mavericks feature: Krista Hassing
As Krista Hassing is currently playing in her senior year, she has the opportunity to become one of the best players in Minnesota State volleyball history. To date, she has posted 1,210 kills which puts her at 8th all-time at MSU. She is still only half-way through the season. At the rate Hassing is playing, she might be able to crack the top-five on that list.
Krista has had an impressive career not only at Minnesota State, but also in high school. The Blue Earth, Minnesota native was a three-sport athlete in high school; she played volleyball, basketball, and track. Her impressive high school athletic career is filled with accolades.
In basketball, she made the All-Conference team her sophomore, junior, and senior years. Krista was a standout player on the volleyball court as she was all-conference from sophomore to senior year. She also finished her senior year with an All-State honorable mention. She even owns the school records for most kills and blocks in a single season.
Krista was also a track star, as she made all-conference all four years including her 8th grade year. She was an all-state track member her junior and senior year. Hassing’s junior season ended with a 2nd place finish at the state track meet in the 800 meter run and the 4×400 meter relay. As a senior, she finished 2nd in the 4×400 meter relay at state. She also owns the school and section record for the 800-meter dash.
Krista’s athleticism clearly translated to the collegiate level as she made an immediate impact for the Mavericks her freshman year on. She saw action in 81 sets that year and finished the season third on the team in kills with 157.
Her sophomore year is where she developed into the star of the team as she started every match and led the team with 380 kills. She also posted a team-high 94 total blocks in the season. Her play gained the attention from everyone in the conference as she received Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) First Team All-Conference honors.
It kept getting better for Krista. Last season, she was not only the star of the team or the conference. She was one of the best volleyball players in the country as she received American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division-II All-American honorable mention honors. By the end of the 2015 season, she led the team in kills with 431, attacking percentage (3.20), and total blocks with 115. She received First Team All-Conference for the second year in-a-row.
This season, Krista has some goals for herself and for the team.
“Since the top-seven teams in our conference are ranked in the top-25 nationally, one of my goals for the team is to pull off some major upsets and put MSU on the map. A personal goal of mine is to become a two-time All-American,” said Hassing.
So far, she’s on track for another memorable season, and the team has a few more chances at an upset later on in the season.
One of the goals, for the team if not for Krista, is to propel Minnesota State volleyball into one of the top programs in the country. Obviously, to do that means the team has to beat the best programs. They have had success in the past with upsetting highly ranked teams.
“I think one of my favorite memories at MSU was when our team upset Southwest Minnesota State University in their own gym, something that hadn’t been done in quite a while,” Hassing said, reflecting on her time as a Maverick. She also stated that some other fond memories were upsetting top ranked Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth last season.
Krista is a nursing major and is set to graduate next May. Even with the demands of handling her major and sports, she sees the positives out of it.
“It has been very rewarding at the same time,” said Hassing.
After she graduates, she has a general idea of what is next to come in her life.
“I plan to work as a nurse at Mayo in Rochester. Currently, I am undecided as to whether or not I will pursue coaching in my spare time,” Hassing said.
Whatever she decides to do, chances are she will exceed expectations just like in her illustrious athletic career.