“This weekend was huge for us,” said M State Head Coach Abby Crowser. “We knew heading into it that we needed to be sharp if we were going to be successful. We had a lot of anticipation for our game on Friday against Rochester. With them being #3 and us being #4 in the nation, we knew it was going to be a battle. The momentum was always switching from team to team, but we were determined in the fifth set and came out so strong. The team pulled together, played aggressive and confident and that is what gave us the edge. The atmosphere in the gym couldn’t have been better. We had such a great turnout and that helps us so much. Bailey Marty had another phenomenal night for us with 46 digs and passed the 1,000 dig mark. We were so happy to see her reach that milestone. It was just a great night for M State volleyball.”

Marty also was 13-for-15 serving with one ace.  Emily Condon was a perfect 31-for-31 on the serving line with 5 aces, Avery Wanner was 12-for-12, Jayna Gronewold was 7-for-7 and Kaia Strom was 17-for-18 with 3 aces.  Other dig leaders were Condon (22), Strom (17), Gronewold (15) and Wanner (13).  Brooke Hovland led the attack with 15 kills, Anya Mack had 13 kills and 5 blocks, Emily Dehler had 9 kills and 3 blocks and Condon had 8 kills.  Alaina Anderson added 6 kills and 3 blocks.

“Coming back to the gym the next morning we knew we were going to have to be mentally strong up against a tough team like NDSCS,” stated Crowser. “After an exhausting Friday night, we didn’t want to come out weak. It turned out to be another hard fought match that we ended up winning in 5. Before the start of the 5th set, we decided we wanted to make a statement as a team. We wanted to prove that we could be consistent and could win back to back 5 set matches. Within the first few points we made it clear what we were going to do and finished well.”

Serving leaders for the Spartans were Emily Condon (21/22, 1 ace), Bailey Marty (19/19, 3 aces), Kaia Strom (15/15, 3 aces), Avery Wanner (17/18, 2 aces) and Jayna Gronewold (9/10, 2 aces).  The attack was led by Brooke Hovland (14 kills, 4 blocks), Anya Maack (8 kills, 5 blocks), Emily Dehler (7 kills, 3 blocks) and Alaina Anderson (3 kills, 5 blocks).  Strom distributed 31 set assists.  Marty led the team with 29 digs.  Wanner had 17, Condon 16 and Strom 14.

“We are going to do everything possible to keep building upon what we can do as a team for the remainder of the season,” noted Coach Crowser. “I can’t wait to see what this team will accomplish together.”