Minnesota State Mavericks fall to Wayne State Wildcats 3-1
This past weekend, the Mavericks found defeat against the Wayne State Wildcats at home. Their season record now stands 13-5 (5-5 in the conference). Meanwhile, the Wildcats advance to 16-3 (10-1 in the conference).
In game one, senior libero Ellie Kline guided the Mavs to a confident 7-2 lead with two aces in the beginning run. The Wildcats responded to this with a run of their own, resulting in a score of 11-7. Mavs in the lead.
Halfway through the first set, the Mavs fell into trouble as the Wildcats seemingly found an impressive burst of momentum, out-scoring the Mavericks in the following run 8-2. Setting the Wildcats ahead 15-13.
For the remainder of the match, both teams consistently traded points back and forth until the Wildcats broke the cycle with a 4-0 run, leaving the Mavs behind 20-15.
Both sides of the net fought with determination for the remainder. But despite their best efforts, the Mavs could not pull ahead as the Wildcats ended game one victorious 25-22.
Coming off of a victory, the Wildcats carried that momentum over into the start of game two. Scoring nine points over the mavericks two in the first run, the Wildcats set the tone of the match instantly.
MSU made an attempt to match the energy shown by the Wildcats, working their way back into the game with a back and forth service exchange until the score stood 13-9.
The Wildcats responded to that effort by marching their lead farther ahead with a 8-2 run. Setting the score 21-11. Despite a 4-1 run by the Mavs, game two ended in another Wildcat victory 25-15.
The Mavericks started game three by putting a swift end to the Wildcats momentum with a 5-3 lead early on. Thanks to a block by Kiya Durant and Averey Klein, the Mavs found the lead they had been searching for.
Both teams juggled the lead back and forth in the following moments. This was put to an end as Kiya Durant scored two kills, followed by an ace from Madison Miller. The Mavericks came out on top of the run with an 11-8 lead.
The match returned to a state of back and forth from both sides but was interrupted by a 4-0 streak from Wayne State, setting the Wildcats ahead 14-13.
The Mavericks responded to the loss of their lead by taking it back instantly with a 3-0 run of their own. The rest of game three continued to be fought hard by both sides. Kiya Durant managed four more kills in the set for a total of 6, leading the Mavericks to their first victory of the night 25-22.
Momentum shifted again in the beginning of the fourth set. WSU managed a 6-0 lead over the Mavericks out the gate. The Wildcats then proceeded to expand their lead to 14-3 soon after.
The Mavericks showed signs of redemption from their rough start as they attempted to close the gap. Managing to reach 15 points before the Wildcats ended the night with a 25-15 victory.
This is not the first time MSU has struggled against Wayne State as they have not seen victory over the team since 2018. The Mavericks finished this time around with a total of 49 kills, 8 aces, and 45 assists.
Ellie Klein as libero led the Maverick stats with 16 kills, followed by Emma Loveall with 12 kills. Kiya Durant ended with 11 kills as well as two blocks. Brooke Bolwerk found 45 assists as the setter for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks are scheduled to take on Concordia-St. Paul next week. They will travel to St. Paul on Oct. 24, where they will take on the Golden Bears in Gangelhoff Center.
Photo Caption: The Maverick Volleyball team is defeated by the Wayne State Wildcats 3-1, setting their season record 13-5. (Logan Schlosser/The Reporter)
Write to matthew.beyer@mnsu.edu