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Lady Spartans Win Battle of Nationally Ranked Teams in 5-Set Thriller

By Craig Olson, 09/17/22, 9:15PM CDT

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A battle between two of the top teams in the nation in NJCAA Division III Volleyball took place at M State in Fergus Falls on Saturday as the lady Spartans hosted the Century College Woodducks in an MCAC Southern Division clash.  The 5-set marathon match lasted 2 ½ hours with five thrilling sets.  M State posted a 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 27-25, 26-28, 15-13) victory.

“We knew going into this match that it was going to be competitive and tough,” said head coach Abby Crowser. “Century is currently #8 and we are #7 and it was a back and forth battle the whole match. Before the start of the 5th set we were calm because we have had several 5 set matches already this season and know how to handle the pressure. One of this team’s strengths is never giving up and executing when we need it most.  Seeing them work together and have everyone contribute to be successful is so fun to see. Our goal this season is to get a little better every day whether it’s in practice or a match and we plan to continue that positive progression day by day.”

The lady Spartans had 12 service aces, led by 4 from Avery WannerFaith Marion and Laci Strom served up 3 aces apiece and Kendra Emery had a pair of ace serves.

Faith Marion led the attack with 22 kills.  Lindsey Kurz added 8 kills and Emily Dehler had 7.  Kurz also had 2 solo blocks and 3 block assists.  Kaia Strom distributed 41 set assists.  Dig leaders were Wanner (32), Emery (24), Laci Strom (16) and Kaia Strom (13).

M State is now 10-4 overall and 5-0 in Conference play.  They will host St. Cloud at 6:30pm Wednesday in a MCAC match, before hosting Miles Community College on Friday and Dakota County Technical College on Saturday in a pair of non-conference contests.