Minnesota State University-Mankato Women's Volleyball

Corey Phelps was named the head coach of the Minnesota State women’s volleyball program in June 2021. He joined the Mavericks as an assistant prior to the 2019 season and served as the team’s interim head coach for a year and a half before being named head coach. Since 2021, the Mavericks, under Phelps, have gone 75-63 (.543) with a 48-48 (.500) record against NSIC opponents. He has coached 37 NSIC All-Academic Team members, seven Myles Brand Award winners, 12 CSC Academic All-District players and eight All-Conference athletes.  2025: Phelps guided Minnesota State to its most productive season under his leadership, as the Mavericks finished 23-6 overall and 15-5 in NSIC play. MSU opened the season with a perfect non-conference record and a 10-0 start, while its 20-win campaign marked the program’s first since 2011. The season was highlighted by wins over three ranked opponents, including a 3-0 victory over #18 Northern State, a 3-2 win against #12 Southwest Minnesota State and a 3-0 Senior Night victory over #25 Minnesota Duluth. The Mavericks were nationally ranked in the AVCA Top 25 for eight straight weeks, appearing in the poll from Week 5 through Week 12 and climbing as high as No. 23. Minnesota State also tied a program record with 18 straight-set wins, matching the mark set by the 2002 team. The Mavericks finished fourth in the NSIC standings before hosting the NSIC Quarterfinals for the first time in program history. They ended the regular season ranked fourth in the nation in aces per set as a team, a major part of their success throughout the year. Under Phelps, Ellie Kline and Jadyn Lester earned NSIC First Team All-Conference honors, while Emily Kern, Avery Klein and Avery Rosenberg were named to the second team. Kline was also named D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team and NSIC Libero of the Year, marking the first major conference honor of Phelps’ tenure. Off the court, Klein, Kline, Rosenberg and Mary Satori earned CSC Academic All-District honors. 2024: The Mavericks (18-9, 10-8 NSIC) continued their upward trend in the Phelps era, as the team won its first eight non-conference games of the 2024 season. The fall season was highlighted by wins against #20 UMD on the road and a 3-2 win against #10 Southwest Minnesota State at home on October 30. MSU ended the regular season tied for seventh in the NSIC, which secured the first postseason game for Maverick volleyball since 2018. The team fell to second-seeded Concordia-St. Paul in the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinal, 3-1. Freshman right side Avery Klein made the All-NSIC First Team in her rookie season on campus. Kiya Durant was named to the All-Conference Second Team for the second consecutive year. She surpassed 400 career blocks and ended her Maverick career with 417 total blocks. Senior setter Brooke Bolwerk ended her career with 2,484 assists. Junior libero Ellie Kline surpassed 1,000 digs in her MSU career. Bolwerk, Durant and Abigail Wolfe all earned NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Awards and nine others were named to the NSIC Fall All-Academic Team. Bolwerk, Durant, Kline and Emma Lovell earned CSC Academic All-District Honors in 2024. 2023: Minnesota State (14-12, 9-9 NSIC) more than doubled its win total from 2022 in the 2023 season. MSU won four games in a row in the middle of the season before it defeated #10 Minnesota Duluth on the road, 3-1. Senior right side Sophie Tietz made the NSIC All-Conference First Team in 2023 and Kiya Durant made the Second Team in 2023. Tietz ended the season with 245 kills, 91 blocks and 42 service aces. Durant had 174 kills and 99 blocks. The team narrowly missed the NSIC Tournament, finishing in a tie for eighth place with Sioux Falls, who held a tiebreaker over Minnesota State. 10 Mavericks made the NSIC Fall All-Academic Team in 2023. Tietz, Durant, Brooke Bolwerk and Ellie Kline all earned CSC Academic All-District Honors.    2022: Phelps and Minnesota State went 6-22 (5-15 NSIC) in the 2022 season. Seven Maverick players made the NSIC Fall All-Academic Team and two student-athletes received the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award.   2021: Phelps led the Mavericks to a 14-14 (9-11 NSIC) record in the first year at the helm of the Minnesota State volleyball team. Under his guidance Mara Quam broke the All-Time digs record in school history. Saw freshman Kiya Durant finish third in the NSIC in blocks. Also, eight players earned NSIC All-Academic Team recognition and had two athletes receive the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award. He served as the head coach of the women's volleyball program at St. Catherine's from 2010-16 and during his six years in charge of the Wildcats, had five all-conference players, one all-region performer and one Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.  The program was also honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) team academic award seven times. In addition to two seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin-River Falls, Phelps also was an instructor at the Falcons' summer volleyball camps and served the campus community as a Health Education Coordinator.  The Independence, Mo., native spent four seasons as the top assistant coach at UM-Morris and six years as an assistant coach at St. Mary's University in Winona.  At both institutions he also worked with the institution's intramural sports programs. Phelps played collegiate volleyball at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa where he was team captain for the Yellowjackets.  In addition to earning all-conference honors as an outside hitter, Phelps helped lead Graceland to a spot in the national tournament, where they posted a second-place finish. The 1995 Graceland graduate earned a Master of Arts Degree in Human Development from St. Mary's University in 2010.  

Megan Bezdicek was hired as Assistant Coach of the Minnesota State women's volleyball program in July of 2022 and elevated to Associate Head Coach in June of 2025. She spent the 2021-2022 as Volunteer Assistant Coach for the Mavericks.  In her first season as Associate Head Coach, Bezdicek helped guide Minnesota State to a 23-6 overall record and a 15-5 mark in NSIC play, marking the program’s first 20-win season since 2011. The Mavericks opened the year 10-0, earned wins over three ranked opponents and were nationally ranked in the AVCA Top 25 for eight straight weeks, appearing in the poll from Week 5 through Week 12 and climbing as high as No. 23. MSU also tied a program record with 18 straight-set wins, matching the mark set by the 2002 team. The Mavericks finished fourth in the NSIC standings and hosted the NSIC Quarterfinals for the first time in program history, while also ending the regular season ranked fourth in the nation in aces per set as a team. Prior to joining the MSU coaching staff, Bezdicek was an assistant coach at Spirit Lake High School for five years where she helped lead the Indians to an overall record of 108-37 and a district final appearance. During her time at Spirit Lake, she helped coach twelve all-conference players, three all-state players and had ten athletes go on to play at the colligate level.   She spent 2013 to 2016 as the head coach of the women’s volleyball program at Iowa Lakes Community College. During her three years leading the Lakers, Bezdicek guided the program to a 50-25 overall record, had eight all-conference players and seven all-region selections. Six of her players went on to play at various levels of the NCAA and NAIA. The program was also honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) team academic award two times. While at Iowa Lakes, Bezdicek also served as one of the success center coordinators.   Bezdicek played collegiate volleyball at Augustana (College) University in Sioux Falls, SD, where she was a team captain for her last two years. During her time with the Vikings, she earned academic all-conference honors three times. A native of Jackson, MN, she was a three-sport standout for the Huskies earning multiple all-conference honors in volleyball, basketball, and softball. She was also a two-time all-state honoree in volleyball and one-time all-state selection in softball.   Bezdicek graduated from Augustana in 2012 with degrees in athletic training, biology, and secondary education. While also earning her masters in Counseling and Student Personnel from MSU in 2025.