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ST. PAUL, Minn. – After suffering its first loss to Minnesota State since 2002 on September 18 this season, the fourth-ranked Concordia University volleyball team looks for redemption tonight against the No. 13 Mavericks. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center as the volleyball team and Concordia Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) host its annual
Dig for a Cure event, which will include activities designed to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
Concordia enters tonight's match on a six-match win streak, while boasting a 15-3 overall record and 9-2 mark in the NSIC. Minnesota State is 14-5 overall and 8-3 in the conference. Follow tonight's action by clicking on the live stats and watch links above this article.
NOTES
THE SERIES… Tonight's match marks the 18th meeting between the Golden Bears and Mavericks on the court. Concordia leads the all-time series 14-3.
LAST TIME OUT… Concordia and Minnesota State played a five-set thriller in Mankato on September 18 this season and the Mavericks came away with a 3-2 win.
Kayla Koenecke (Delano, Minn.) and
Ellie Duffy (Fridley, Minn.) each posted a double-double for the Golden Bears. Koenecke had a team-high 16 kills and 11 digs, while Duffy posted 15 kills and 11 digs.
Amanda Konetchy (Victoria, Minn.) posted 56 of the team's 63 assists, averaging 11.2 per set. Leading the way for the Mavericks was Chelsea Fogarty as she connected for 20 kills on 50 attempts with eight errors for a .240 attack percentage. Samantha Dale and Kelli Elhardt each had 13 kills, while Ellie Van De Steeg tallied 59 assists.
NSIC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK… Ellie Duffy tallied double digit kills in a pair of wins in North Dakota last weekend. She connected on 10-of-16 attacks with four errors for a .375 attack percentage against Minot State. She also added two service aces. Against U-Mary, Duffy accumulated a team-high 15 kills on 30 attempts for a .400 attack rate (three errors), including one ace. For the weekend, Duffy averaged a league high 4.17 kills per set.
LAST WEEK'S LEADERS… Amanda Konetchy (Jr., Setter, Victoria, Minn.) played a major factor in the Golden Bears' success last weekend. The junior setter started the road trip with 34 assists at Minot State, which led to a .310 team attack percentage. Her performance against U-Mary was even more impressive with 43 assists and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. Konetchy's serving paved the way for a .387 team attack rate. Between the two matches, Konetchy averaged 12.83 assists per set.
Kayla Koenecke (Jr., Right Side, Delano, Minn.) is known league-wide as a hard-hitting outside hitter, but she proved last weekend to be a true all-around performer. Koenecke was one of two Golden Bears to register double digit kills in the win over Minot State with 10 total. She added a team-high three block assists with a solo block. Saturday at U-Mary was her best performance of the weekend with a team-high 15 kills along with 10 digs for her team-high sixth double-double on the year. Her three block assists were also a team-high.
MAVERICK NOTES… #1 Chelsea Fogarty (OH, 5-10, Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn. / Belle Plaine HS) recorded her third consecutive double-double as the Mavericks downed the Marauders 3-1 Friday evening, Fogarty finished the match with 17 kills and 13 digs while hitting .220. Saturday Minnesota State traveled to Minot, where it swept the Beavers 3-0 behind a 16-kill, eight-dig effort by Fogarty who hit .500, to improve to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in the NSIC. On the weekend, Fogarty started all seven sets for the Mavericks and recorded 33 kills (4.71 per set) while hitting .333, Fogarty also tallied 21 digs (3.00 per set) as Minnesota State made the 1,176 mile roundtrip trek to North Dakota.
#15 Samantha Dale (DS, 5-8, Sr. Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson HS) continued her defensive domination for the Mavericks as they took to the road to square off against the University of Mary and Minot State this past weekend, Dale started the weekend with a 17-dig performance (4.25 per set) as the Mavericks downed the Marauders 3-1. Saturday, Minnesota State traveled to Minot State where the Mavericks swept the Beavers 3-0, Dale recorded 15 digs (5.0 per set), she totaled 32 digs on the weekend (4.57 per set) as the Mavericks improved to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference.
#10 Ellie Van De Steeg (S, 5-9, Fr., Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson HS) helped the Mavericks to a 2-0 finish this past weekend at Minnesota State traveled to North Dakota to square off against conference foes, the University of Mary and Minot State. Van De Steeg tallied 91 total assists (13.00 per set) helping the Mavericks to a 14-5 overall record and a mark of 8-3 in the NSIC. Van De Steeg started the weekend with a 53-assist performance against the Marauders (13.25 per set) as the Mavericks earned the 3-1 win. Saturday Van De Steeg and the Mavericks returned to action against the Beavers where she recorded 38 assists (12.66 per set) as Minnesota State swept Minot State.
