by Josh Berhow
Minnesota State - 2
Southwest Minnesota State - 3
For the second consecutive season, the Minnesota State volleyball team's postseason ended in the first round of the NCAA Regional Tournament.
MSU battled back in an intense five-game match (30-25, 30-19, 20-30, 28-30, 15-9) against the No. 3 seed Southwest Minnesota State Thursday in Duluth, but it wasn't enough to get the win and advance.
The Mavericks fell into an early 2-0 hole but battled back in game three, starting the game with a 7-2 run. Amanda Beekman helped force the fourth game with eight kills in the third. Game four saw the Mustangs get an early lead only to squander it as the Mavs fought back and forced a deciding game five. Eventually, SMSU got the upper hand in game five beating MSU 15-9 and winning the match 3-2.
"Volleyball games are like flipping a coin sometimes," said head coach Dennis Amundson. "Momentum shifts can turn on a dime and we ended up on the wrong side of the flip this time.
"We still have to learn to come out and raise that level of intensity at the end," Amundson said.
Amundson was quick to point out the advantage SMSU had in digging. The Mustangs had 94 total digs in the match and had three players with 20-plus digs.
Both teams made 26 attacking errors and had somewhat respectable hitting percentages during the match, showing both teams played reasonably well. The digs advantage contributed heavily to SMSU winning the match.
In her last match as a Maverick, Stef Sandstrom put on a great performance with 50 assists and 20 digs. The younger Sandstrom, Kelly, led the team with 22 digs.
"Stef has become a very steady competitor for us," Amundson said. "Shes's a floor general and teaches the kids how to compete. She rubs off on all our players and plays hard and plays to win."
Beekman and Ashley Nachreiner led the team on offense, giving some added optimism to next year. Beekman led with 22 kills and Nachreiner added 17. Both former NCC Freshman of the Year will look to lead the team for another run next year.
"We will have a little more balanced offense next year that will make it even better for those two," Amundson said.
Danielle Zimmermann led the team with six total blocks.
The Mavericks end their season with a 19-9 overall record and a 7-5 mark in the NCC.
Josh Berhow is a Reporter staff writer
