by Emily Buss
Issue date: 10/10/06
Section: Womens Sports
With two games on the road this passed weekend, the Minnesota State volleyball team accepted the challenge of each team they faced. They competed against the Coyotes of University of South Dakota on Friday and had a re-match against the Mavericks from Nebraska-Omaha.
The first game against USD started the weekend off on a high note as the Mavs beat the Coyotes in three games with scores of 30-22, 30-25 and 30-19. They played extremely tough, firing out 22 kills in the first match alone. They were able to keep the fast-pace tempo on into the second game, hitting a .381 average to put away 18 kills. The quick third game was no different with the Mavericks out-hitting and out-blocking their opponent.
"I'm very proud of what the kids did on the road this weekend," said Head Coach Dennis Amundson. "We've done better thus far into the season than we did in the whole of last season."
Junior Megan Stroud put away 13 kills on 21 attempts, an attack percentage of .524, just behind her career best of .533. Mandy Reuter had 12 kills and added 11 digs to earn her a team-leading seventh double-double. Setter Stef Sandstrom tallied 41 assists and 12 digs. Outside hitter Cassie Wolpern made her presence known, posting 10 kills, two ace serves, six digs, two assists, and one block.
The team's momentum continued into Saturday when it faced a team they had already beaten at home, UNO. MSU started off shaky and were unable to recover to lost matches, losing in four sets with scores of 15-30, 23-30, 32-30, and 24-30. UNO proved to be on top of their game, recording 15 kills and only one error in 25 attempts to win the first match.
After UNO took the second match, MSU out-hit UNO in the third match, but struggled on offense through the fourth, totaling 11 attack errors which was the deciding factor that sent MSU home with a loss.
"We upset them at our home court and now they were anxious to show us up at theirs," Amundson said. "And that is exactly what they did. We had a chance to win after the third match but they wanted their payback."
Wolpern had a team-high 13 kills and 11 digs. Reuter, who had 11 kills, tied Wolpern's 11 digs. Sandstrom popped up 33 assists and 15 digs, recording double figures for the third-straight game.
MSU's conference record is currently 3-3 and its overall record is 13-7. The Mavericks play Southwest Minnesota State at 7 p.m. today in Marshall, Minn.
"This is another ranked team and we hope to give them an upset at home. We are going to go into this game full force and hopefully come away with a win," said Amundson.
Emily Buss is a Reporter staff writer
