The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s volleyball team refused to back down, but just didn’t have enough on Saturday as the Mavericks of Minnesota State Mankato defeated the Golden Eagles in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 26-28, 25-14) at Lysaker Gymnasium on the UMC campus.
UMC’s season ends with a record of 7-19, 4-14 in conference play. MSU-Mankato improves to 18-8, 10-8 in the conference.
FIRST SET
UMC got off to a trememdous start in the match, as a Baily Teveldal service ace gave the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead. They kept that 3 point lead for a short time, before a Kiya Durant kill tied the set at 6. UMC prevented the Mavericks from taking the lead until past the halfway point of the set, as the defense at the net did a great job of keeping the Maverick hitters quiet. However, the Golden Eagles could not stop committing errors, and the Mavericks took their first lead of the set at 14-13. UMC was able to keep the lead at 1 for a while, but after the Mavericks toom a 16-15 lead, 7 of their final 9 points of the set came from UMC errors. A Toryn Richards kill put the first set on ice for the Mavericks, taking it 25-20.
SECOND SET
The momentum that the Mavericks gathered at the end of the first set grew exponentially into the second set, as the Mavericks opened up on a 6-1 run. The errors continued to pile up for the Golden Eagles, and eventually, two consecutive kills by Durant and Richards put the Mavericks up 15-5. After UMC head coach Nick Meseck burned his final timeout, the Golden Eagles began to shape up, limiting the errors. Carizma Muth became a force in the second set, getting 5 kills after the 15-5 timeout. However, the defense of the Mavericks was able to hold on, and even though UMC outscored MSU Mankato 15-10, the early defecit was too much to bear, as the Mavericks took the second set by the same score as the first, 25-20, allowing them to go up two sets to none.
THIRD SET
Whatever was said in that 15-5 timeout in the second set defenitely resonated with the Golden Eagles, and just like set 1, UMC started set 3 by jumping out to a 6-3 lead. Maya Jones began to take over, scoring 3 kills in their first 10 points en route to a 10-7 advantage. UMC continued putting their feet on the gas, as blocks from Muth and Megan Schoenfelder allowed UMC to surge ahead to an 18-12 lead, their largest set advantage of the night. However, MSU Mankato has showcased their ability to comeback throughout the season, and they began to push back, going on a 5-0 run with two Richards kills and 3 UMC errors to cut the lead to 20-19. Then, at 22-19, MSU Mankato took a 4-0 run to take the lead, ending on a Jadyn Lester service ace, the final point of 4 that she played in the entire match. UMC tied it at 23, and the match stayed tied until 26, before another Jones kill allowed UMC to extend the match to a 4th set, winning it 28-26.
FOURTH SET
It looked like UMC would ride the momentum of an insane third set win, but unfortunately for them, the Mavericks had other ideas. UMC was able to take a 3-1 lead due to a Muth kill, the Mavericks tied it back at 3 on a Golden Eagle attack error, and both teams began to exchange points in what was turning into a more even played set than set 3. However, after UMC took an 11-10 lead, the Mavericks hit another level that had not been hit before, and they began to play nearly perfect volleyball. Emma Loveall began to play absurdly well, registering 5 kills in the final 15 points for the Mavericks, as they killed the final four points to end the fourth set on a 15-3 run. They would take the set 25-14, winning the match three sets to one.
With it being the final match of the season, it was Senior Day, and coach Nick Meseck sang his praises postgame of UMC’s only senior player, Bailey Schaefer. “You don’t know what you don’t know, and you can’t be 21 when you’re 18” said Meseck, “so you have that one voice of reason and that steadiness from somebody, which lets us pull back from the panic we sometimes get ourselves into.” He then joked about how Schaefer used to be what the freshman now are. “She was so hard on herself, and she’s learned over her last four years after many conversations and a lot of work on her part…we’re really going to miss her.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| MSU-Mankato | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 |
| UM-Crookston | 20 | 20 | 28 | 14 |
For UMC
Kills – Maya Jones 16, Carizma Muth 15
Blocks – Carizma Muth, Maya Jones, Megan Schoenfelder 1
Digs – Kailee Waasdorp 26
Assists- Baily Teveldal 45
Aces- Carizma Muth 2
For MSUM
Kills – Emma Loveall 14, Kiya Durant 13
Blocks – Emily Kern 3
Digs – Ellie Kline 27
Assists- Brooke Bolwerk 46
Aces – Avery Klein 3, Kaci Beesecker 2
