Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. – The Northern State Wolves pushed the host Minnesota State Mavericks to the limit Friday night, but were unable to overcome a 26-kill performance by MSU's Chelsea Fogerty, falling just short in a five-set battle by set scores of 16-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 13-15.
 
The loss drops NSU to an even 12-12 overall and 7-10 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.  The Mavericks, meanwhile, improved to 17-8 on the season and 10-7 in the loop.
 
Despite the nine-point margin of victory for the Mavericks in the opening set, neither team was set to run away with victory in the remaining four sets.  A five-point run by the Wolves in the second gave NSU a 19-15 edge, which proved to be enough as the two teams traded points for the remainder of the set and sent them into the intermission tied at one apiece.
 
The Mavericks came out of the break and used an early 7-4 lead and strong play through the middle portion of the set before holding off the Wolves in the late going to take a 2-1 match lead.  NSU, however, would not go quietly, taking the lead at 2-1 and never relinquishing it despite an unrelenting Maverick effort.
 
Northern State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the decisive fifth set only to watch the Mavericks respond with five straight points out of an early timeout.  The Wolves fought back to tie it at 10-all on a Konefesi Vaisigano kill and a set miscue from Maverick setter Brittany Stamer.
 
The two teams then battled through ties on the next three points with the Wolves taking their final lead after a service error gave NSU a 13-12 advantage.  MSU scored the final three points of the match using two Fogarty kills and an NSU miscue at the net to close out the set and salvage the match win.
 
Vaisigano turned in one of her best performances of the season for NSU, finishing with 17 kills and just two attacking errors at the net.  The senior also had two assists and 12 digs.  Fellow senior Kaili Aiono matched that 17-to-2 kill-to-error ratio, while also gathering up 15 digs and a service ace.  Paula Martins had 13 kills and five blocks.
 
Fogarty's match-high 26 kills came on 67 swings and a .299 attack percentage.  She also had 15 digs and five blocks, while Jill Storlie added 20 kills and a pair of service aces.  Alli Rice joined the double-figures club with 13 kills and 13 digs.
 
The Wolves take the court for their final road game of the season on Saturday, taking on ninth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State in a 3 p.m. match-up.