MANKATO, Minn. - In a battle of 3-0 teams to close out the Maverick Invite, the NMU Volleyball team fell to Minnesota State in five sets, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 14-25, and 6-15.
The Wildcats held a 2-1 set advantage, but the home team rallied to hand Northern its first loss of the season.
Jacqueline Smith led the way for the 'Cats with 17 kills, followed by
Meghan Meyer and
Kaysie Bakke with nine apiece.
Allie Barlow reached 45 assists as the setter.
Minnesota State closed out the Wildcats efficiently with a hitting percentage of .353 in the fourth set and .556 in the fifth. They recorded a game total of .266 to NMU's .166.
Set One
Minnesota State began play by getting a quick lead of 8-5 on the Wildcats. A server's ace from
Sydney Bartels paired with two kills from Megan Meyer sent the Wildcats into the lead for the first time of the match nearing mid-set.
NMU continued on its attack, forcing the Mavericks to take timeout after an attacking error tacked on another point, setting the score to 14-11 in favor of the 'Cats.
Right out of the timeout, the Wildcats capitalized and continued to keep momentum with a kill from
Jacqueline Smith.
The first set came to a close with a kill from
Allie Barlow, marking the 25th point for NMU.
Set Two
Minnesota State and Northern Michigan each exchanged a kill to open set two. Mankato began to creep ahead of the Wildcats with a lead of five as the set progressed.
Jacqueline Smith, recorded four kills, hopeful to regain the lead. Kills from
Kaysie Bakke and
McKenzie Gruner also aided in NMU's efforts to close the score gap.
Northern took a timeout with the score of the Mavericks 16th point, setting them once more at a five-point lead.
Minnesota State continued forward despite NMU's attempts to get back in it, ultimately taking set two with a score of 25-19.
Set Three
With the match tied at 1-1, the Wildcats opened the play in set three with five unanswered points in the form of kills from
Jacqueline Smith and
Helen Beiring, attacking errors made by Mankato, and a server's ace recorded by
Allie Barlow.
The set continued in a back-and-forth manner, however, NMU continued to maintain its early lead. The score showed 13-7 when the Minnesota State coaching staff elected for a timeout.
Senior
Jacqueline Smith put up a kill assisted by
Allie Barlow, directly following the timeout. The Wildcats used this and continued to push forward, not letting the Mavericks decrease the lead any further than a six-point deficit.
Minnesota State elected to take its second timeout of the set once the Wildcats set the score to 18-8.
Set three was finished in favor of Northern by a kill from
Meghan Meyer, her seventh of the match.
Set Four
The Mavericks turned it on in the fourth set, putting together an early 5-0 run to grab a 8-4 lead. The 'Cats would chip away, closing the match to three at 13-10 thanks to a spread out kill attack, but soon after the Mavericks managed another 5-0 run and would go on to win the set 25-14.
Set Five
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Mavericks scored six of the first seven points in the decisive set and would finish with five of the last six to win the set 15-6.
Up Next
The anticipated home opener at the new Vandament Arena wil take place on Thursday, September 12 against Findlay. A dedication will take place at 3 p.m. with the match following at 5 p.m.
