Volleyball falls to No. 8 Warriors, prepares for Moorhead, Northern

It was an unfortunate midweek performance as the Minnesota State volleyball team fell to No. 8 Winona State in a 3-set sweep.

The Mavericks started the first set going down quickly 4-0 to the Warriors, and attempted to climb back with a couple of kills from Jessica Nelson.

It was very short lived as the Mavericks went on to lose the next 10 out of 12 points, making it a 14-4 first set.

The teams traded points back and forth at that point, but would eventually fall to Warriors 25-13.

MSU found themselves with their first lead of the match at the beginning of the second set hwen they went up 4-3. It would be a neck and neck set through almost the entirety of the set when the secore came to 18-18, but WSU went on a 7-1 run, to close out the second set 25-19.

The Mavericks had one last chance to take a set off of the top 10 team in the country, but it did not have a great start.
MSU started out down 4-1, and would stay down for the whole set.

Minnesota State managed to only scavenge 11 points in the third, as Winona State tore the Mavericks apart, handing them their sixth loss in a row.

Looking ahead to this weekend, the Mavericks have two tough matchups against MSU Moorhead and Northern State back in the Taylor Center.

History has served the Mavericks well against the Dragons, going 19-4 since the 1995 season, and riding a six game win streak right now. Earlier this season, the Mavericks took down the Dragons in a clean 3-0 match on the road, and look to do the same this weekend.

The Mavericks will need to do the same against Northern State, who is in a bit of a better position in the NSIC.

The Wolves are currently in eighth place in the NSIC, and on a three game win streak against MSU Moorhead, Minot State, and UMary.

Although throughout history since 1996, the Mavs and Wolves are almost even at 16-14 in favor of MSU, the Mavericks have lost the last seven matches and lost 12 of the last 15 meetings.

When the two teams met earlier this year, the Mavs fell on the road to Wolves in a 3-1 set.

With their loss last night, the Mavericks stand no chance at making it into the playoffs, being four games behind a four way tie at eighth place with four games remaining on the schedule.

Despite that, MSU will give it their all against their opponents in their final home game of the season.