In the opening set, Bailey Marty served up five straight points to give M State a 10-2 lead on the way to a first set win.  The Spartans held off a late rally by Ridgewater in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  The momentum gained by the Warriors at the end of the set carried over into the third set as they built a 9-4 lead on the way to a win.  M State fell behind 10-3 in the fourth set, but April Schridde went on an eight point serving run as the Spartans scored 10 of the next 11 points to open up a 13-11 lead.  They were able to maintain that lead the rest of the match.

The Spartan attack was led by Jayna Gronewold (9 kills, 1 block, 1 ace, 21 digs) and Brooke Hovland (10 kills, 2 blocks).  Setter Kaia Strom did a nice job distributing the ball, recording 40 set assists, while finishing with 8 kills, 1 block, 18 digs and an ace serve that ended the match.  Marty excelled defensively with 19 digs and also served up 3 aces.  Emily Condon had a solid all-around game, collecting 2 aces and 6 kills, along with 20 digs.

Ridgewater had a balanced attack with 7 kills from Madison Leyendecker, Morgan Mandel and Adelia Pierson, six kills from Sienna Olson and 5 kills from Coral Mattison.  Leyendecker also had a pair of ace serves.

"After having a year off due to the pandemic, it felt so wonderful to be back in the gym competing," said head volleyball coach Abby Crowser. "The energy in the gym was contagious and the atmosphere was everything we could have wanted for our first home game. It felt great to get the first win under our belts and the team is excited and determined to improve and work hard to be successful. It's going to be a fun season watching them grow together and see what they accomplish."

The Spartans will play at Anoka-Ramsey on Friday night and at Century College on Saturday afternoon.