Mavericks volleyball sweeps competition in Bellarmine Invitational

Jenna Peterson
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Mavericks volleyball team traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to participate in the Bellarmine Invitational from Sept. 13-14. 

The Mavericks first took on the Christian Brothers, where five sets had to be played to determine the winner. The first set looked like it could go to either team, but the Lady Bucs were able to pull a three-point lead that ended with a Bucs win, 25-22. 

It didn’t take long for the Mavericks to come up with a game plan. In the next set they were able to start with a 5-0 run and end the set with a win, 25-23. 

The Lady Bucs took their chance to take the lead in set number three, and although the Mavericks tried to climb back, the Bucs won 25-22. 

A new plan was created in the fourth match when the Mavericks took a quick lead of 14-8, and their determination led to their win 25-21. 

The last set looked like either team could take the win but with the power of the front-line play, the Mavericks won 15-12.

Senior Morgan Olson led the team with 23 kills and four blocks.

Junior Alivia Garbe played with power, with 21 kills – a team leading eight digs and added two 

blocks.

Sophomore Dana Schindler played with 26 assists and senior Anissa Janzig led all players with six blocks.

The second match was a date with the Tiffin University Dragons. It was a quick win for the Mavericks, who were able to take on a 12-8 lead from a 4-0 run right away in the first set. Even though the Dragons tried to climb back, the Mavericks took the first set 25-17. 

The next set started with the Dragons starting out with a 6-1 run. Mankato continued its winning streak with a fight and won 25-22. 

The third and final set was a rapid win for Mankato, where they took a 19-9 lead against the Dragons. Without hesitation, the Mavericks took another win with the set ending 25-13.

Garbe finished the game with a team high of 13 kills and freshman Jessica Nelson took on nine kills.

Altogether, the team hit at a .283 rate, unlike the Dragons who compared to .016.

On Saturday, the Mavericks continued its hot winning streak against Virginia State and Bellarmine University. 

In the win over the Dragons, Olson joined the 1,000-kill club for MSU volleyball.

The first set against Virginia State allowed the Mavericks to get a rapid lead of 10-2, and Mankato won 25-11. The second and third sets weren’t any different, with the Mavericks able to gain the lead right away and win 25-12 and 25-13. 

Outside hitter Nelson led the team with 10 kills, at the same time Garbe and Janzig each had nine kills.

Schindler created a new match high for the Mavericks with 37 assists.

The last match of the invitational was against tournament host, Bellarmine University Knights. Set one wasn’t as exceptional for the Mavericks as the other sets of the day had been, as the Knights were able to win 25-18.

In the second set, the Knights were able to take a lead right away, and despite a strong fight from the Mavericks, Bellarmine took the win 25-14. 

In the beginning of the third set, it seemed as if the Knights were going to take another win, but the Mavericks were able to come up with a new plan and win 25-18. MSU kept the fight on for the next two sets, where they won 25-23 and 15-8. 

Garbe led the team offensively with 21 kills and Schindler recorded 49 assists. Quam finished the match with 15 digs – joining the 1,000 digs club.

The next Mavericks volleyball game is an away game at 6 p.m. on Friday against Bemidji State.

Header photo courtesy of MSU Athletics.