by Emily Buss
Issue date: 9/19/06
Section: Womens Sports
The Minnesota State volleyball team was 9-4 coming into its first home game of the season, but had yet to make a statement.
Saturday, the Mavs upset the University of Nebraska-Omaha - who came in ranked No. 12 in the country - at the Taylor Center to open their conference schedule.
How's that for a statement?
"I'm really excited for our kids," said head coach Dennis Amundson. "This is the first time that we've actually beat somebody that can beat somebody."
The victory reflects the improvement MSU has made since last season. In its final contest of the 2005 season, MSU fell to UNO at the Taylor Center, losing 3-0 (30-28, 30-27, 30-25). Saturday, MSU won a hard-fought match, taking the final two games to win 3-2.
MSU looked tight in warm ups and excited to compete. They came out fighting in Game 1 and won 30-24. Setter Stef Sandstrom was consistently on top of the ball and was smooth in her execution. Cassie Wolpern worked hard, saving a play from back by the crowd to give her team a point.
"We really worked hard and kept reminding each other to work together and that we really wanted to give our fans a good show, especially when it's on home court," Sandstrom said.
The next two games proved to be trying for the Mavs as they lost with scores of 30-27 and 33-31. MSU struggled to make contact with the ball, missed serves and mixed up plays.
During Game 3, Sandstrom was knocked from underneath the net by an opposing player and injured her ankle. She was forced to hop on one foot to keep pressure off the ankle. MSU took a time out down 19-15 to take a breather and re-focus on the goal at hand. MSU fought until the end and took the third game into extra points before losing. The loss only made the Mavs work harder for the fourth and fifth games.
"We kept teetering with a win those two games but just couldn't quite find what we were looking for," Wolpern said. "UNO is a big rival for us and I'm really happy that we didn't let the losses get us down."
Game 4 was a seesaw battle, but MSU took the important win with a 30-24 score. MSU took a short break in between games and knew exactly what it needed to do in this fifth and final game; execute plays, communicate, and win.
MSU had a shaky start to Game 5, falling behind 6-2. The Mavericks then took a timeout and began chipping away at the UNO lead. Dana Ostertag made a crucial stuff block to tie the score at 13-13 but a questionable call against MSU gave UNO a one-point advantage.
This was the moment that the women on both teams became very aware and conscious of one another but MSU had an exciting game-winning kill that sent UNO home empty handed. The final game went into extra points as MSU won 16-14. Despite the achy ankle, Sandstrom said she could not stop smiling after the victory.
The women are proving they are a force to be reckoned with and hope to improve their 10-4 record with a win against No. 25 Southwest Minnesota State at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Taylor Center.
