MANKATO, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team took the first set over Minnesota State University, Mankato but lost three-consecutive sets. The Golden Eagles were upended 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-10, 25-21) Fri., Oct. 13 at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 4-14 (1-9 NSIC) on the season, while Minnesota State improved to 10-8 (4-6 NSIC) with Friday's victory. The Golden Eagles drop to 0-2 on the season against the Mavericks as they fell in non-conference play Sept. 9 in Aberdeen, S.D. Minnesota Crookston showed considerable improvement in Friday's match against Minnesota State as they took the first set and were within at least six points of the Mavericks in the final three sets. The Golden Eagles fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-8, 25-12) in September's match.

The Golden Eagles hit .144 for the match with 45 kills and 27 errors on the match. Minnesota Crookston looked to the play of Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., RS, St. Charles, Minn.), who notched her second-highest amount of kills on the season with 11 against the Mavericks. She hit .231 on the match with just five errors on the match.
Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.) notched 10 kills on the match, but also had 12 errors on the match. Kelci Green (R-Sr., MH, Anoka, Minn.) tallied nine kills and hit .350 on the match. Deaira Gresham (Fr., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) added seven kills. Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Savage, Minn.) led the team with 32 assists on the match.

Defensively, the Golden Eagles notched 50 digs on the match paced by Hagen's 13 digs. Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., DS, Cannon Falls, Minn.) added seven digs, while Maggie Perrel (Sr., Lib., New Germany, Minn.) tallied seven digs. On the block, Kassi Green paced Minnesota Crookston with two solo blocks.

Minnesota State hit .233 on the match with 55 kills and 21 errors. Jackie Jones and Morgan Olson led the Mavericks with 12 kills apiece. Jones paced Minnesota State with a .290 hitting percentage. Sydney Powell and Ashton Lee each added eight kills on the match. Micayla Porter led Minnesota State with 21 assists, while Autumn Risch added 14 digs.

Defensively, Mara Quam paced the Mavericks with 18 digs, while Jones notched 10 digs. The Minnesota State block looked to three solo blocks and two block assists from Anissa Janzig. Powell notched three block assists and one solo block, while Lee added three block assists.

The Golden Eagles took the early 13-10 lead on Minnesota State in the first set following a kill from Sikkink. The Mavericks rallied to tie it back up 13-13 after a Kassi Green attack error. Minnesota State would use their positive momentum to take the lead 20-17 as a Porter service ace dropped in for a point. The Mavericks extended their lead to 23-19 with an Olson kill. Minnesota Crookston ended the set with six-consecutive points to take the victory 25-23. The Golden Eagles were paced in the comeback rally by two kills from Gresham.

After going toe-to-toe for the first 12 points in set two, Minnesota State used a 4-0 run culminating in a Porter service ace as the Mavericks took the 10-6 advantage. Minnesota State moved their advantage to 15-9 on a Kassi Green attack error. The Golden Eagles raced back to cut the deficit to 18-16 as they took 7-of-10 points. Minnesota State concluded the set by taking seven of the final 10 points to win 25-19 and knot the match up 1-1.

The Mavericks and Golden Eagles went back-and-forth in the first 22 points of set three before Minnesota State went up 14-12 on a Powell kill. The Golden Eagles responded to knot the match up 15-15 with a Risch attack error. Minnesota State countered with a 3-0 run to go up 18-15 with an Olson kill. Minnesota Crookston would pull back within 23-20 on a Lee attack error. However, the Mavericks closed out the frame with back-to-back points to win 25-20 and take the 2-1 lead in the match.

The Golden Eagles took the 4-2 lead in the fourth set on a Quam service error. Minnesota State responded to take the lead 6-5 with a kill from Lee. The Mavericks extended their advantage to 14-10 with a Risch service ace. Minnesota Crookston took 5-of-7 points to cut the Minnesota State lead to 16-15 on a Kassi Green kill. The Golden Eagles held in the match and tied it up 20-20 on a Kassi Green kill. Minnesota Crookston took the lead 21-20 with a crucial kill from Schapekahm. However, the Mavericks closed out the set on a 5-0 run to win 25-21 with a kill from Megan Hulscher.

Minnesota Crookston returns to play Sat., Oct. 14 versus No. 3 Concordia University-St. Paul at 2 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.