MANKATO, MINN. - The University of Mary Volleyball team paid a visit to Minnesota State University tonight as the Marauders finish their final road trip of the year. It was a tough matchup for U-Mary as they kept the score close in all three sets but couldn't get over the hill in a three set sweep at the hands of the Mavericks.
 
The Mavericks had control through most of the first set, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead before extending the advantage to 11-5. The Mavericks kept the pace up through the midway point and held a 19-12 lead before the Marauders turned up the attack. U-Mary narrowed the deficit to 23-21 after capitalizing on two aces, five kills and two Maverick errors. It was a last gasp of sorts for the Marauders as Minnesota State closed out the first set 25-21.
 
Minnesota State grabbed another early 5-2 lead in the second set, but the Marauders fought back to knot the score at 5-5. The two teams kept it close but the Mavericks held the advantage at 11-9 before firing off three kills and forcing a Marauder error to go up 16-10. U-Mary fought back again, this time from three kills, a pivotal solo block from Allison Adams, and two unforced errors from Minnesota State, to narrow the gap at 17-16. The Mavericks kept a cushion in the set and extended their lead back to 20-17, but two aces from Brianne Murray, and another error from Minnesota State, tied the score at 20-20. Unfortunately, the Marauders were done in by mistakes of their own as two errors helped the Mavericks in a 5-0 run that also included two aces and a kill to close out the second set 25-20.
 
Set three was a brutal back and forth between the teams, as U-Mary held a 12-11 lead after six ties and four lead changes early in the set. Minnesota State would not go away quietly as they fired off four quick kills to regain the lead at 15-12. From there, the Mavericks held a comfortable lead at 20-15, but the Marauders demonstrated their resiliency and narrowed the score at 21-18. It was too little too late, however, as Minnesota State put the final nail in the coffin with a 4-2 rally to close out the final set 25-20.
 
Kelsey Boyd led the Marauder attack with nine kills, 29 attacks, six digs and one ace. Lauren Boldt also helped on the offensive end with eight kills, 22 attacks and one block assist. Janell Finkbeiner spent most of the match as the primary driver for the Marauder offense with 16 assists and four digs. Murray saw extended action tonight as she totaled 12 assists and five aces; Brianne's five aces are tied for fourth most all time in Marauder D-II history in a single game.
 
Alex Brown anchored the back line with 18 digs and had a hand in the offense with two assists. Adams had a good day on the net with two solo blocks and two block assists and also added four kills and one dig. Adams is now one solo block away from tying Laci Murtha in Marauder D-II history for career solo blocks.
 
The Marauder (4-22, 1-16 NSIC) play their final regular season road game on Saturday, Nov. 1, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., to take on #3 Concordia-St. Paul.