MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Minnesota State Moorhead Dragon volleyball team (10-8, 6-4 NSIC) has put together four consecutive conference wins, as they swept Mary (N.D.) twice in the past five days and took a three set match from Northern State (S.D.) last weekend in the annual Dig for the Cure match.
DRAGON VOLLEYBALL
The team hosts Augustana (S.D.) and No. 4 Wayne State (Neb.) in league contests during MSUM's homecoming festivities. During the celebration the volleyball team welcomes back the 2000 NSIC Championship volleyball team as well as the eight inductees that will enter the Dragon Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday. The class includes one former volleyball player in Cheri (Pundsack) DeBoer.
On Tuesday,
Heidi Lensing led the team with 14 kills and eight digs to lead the Dragons to a complete season sweep over the Maruaders.
Laura Tvrdik (RS, 6-2, Sr., Farwell, Minn./Minnewaska) led the Dragons to the complete sweep in two NSIC matches last weekend as she had 24 kills in 46 attempts, hitting .413 on the weekend. She was also a utility on defense as she had eight block assists and five digs. In the Dragons win over Mary, Tvrdik went 16-for-22 on the attack hitting .682 in the match, leading the team to a season high match hitting percentage of .404.
Leigh Splittstoesser (S, 5-8, Sr., Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) led the Dragons to put together a three match winning streak, as they picked up two NSIC wins this weekend. She had 76 assists on the weekend, averaging 12.78 per set, including assisting all but two of the team's 44 kills in the win over Mary. The team was set up so well, all of the kills in the match were assisted. Splittstoesser had 34 assists and a team high 18 digs in the team's win over Northern State on Saturday.
WELCOME BACK 2000 NSIC CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
The year was 2000, the Dragons came off of a .500 year in the NSIC in 1999 with a chip on their shoulder and they took care of business.
Thirty-one game slater, the Dragons finished the regular season 28-3 overall and 17-1 in the NSIC, capturing the first conference championship since moving to NCAA DII. Not only did they accomplish what they set out to do, they won 17 consecutive NSIC matches to claim the title.
Ten years later, MSUM welcomes back the Championship team of 2000.
Watch Live…
All MSU Moorhead conference matches can be viewed for FREE on the internet, live on New Media Television Networks, Inc. through the Northern Sun Intergollegiate Conference LIveStreaming. Visit http://msum.nmtvsports.com/ to view the Dragons channel on New Media Television.
LIVE STATS LIVE STREAMING
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AUGUSTANA VIKINGS
The Vikings suffered two three-set losses last weekend at the hands of No.2 Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State Mankato, both coming on the road.
Augustana (9-9, 5-4 NSIC) and the Dragons have an even league tally with the Vikings tallying one more overall loss on the season. This will be the first meeting of the year between the teams, and the first since Nov. 13, 2009 where the Vikings took the road-match, 3-2.
Leading the vikings this season are Jordan Spatenka and Lindsey Peterson, both tallying 164 kills this season. Dani Haley averages over ten assists per set with 522 on the season. Defensively, Grace Sanders leads the team with 343 digs, while Brianna Erickson leads the team in blocks with 54.
No. 4 WAYNE STATE WILDCATS
The Wildcats, most recently ranked No. 4 in the AVCA NCAA DII Coaches Top-25 Poll, suffered a big five-set loss to the No. 2 ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs this past weekend to move them two spots in the rankings. They had registerd a win over No. 14 Minnesota State Mankato the evening prior.
The team has suffered only two losses this season, the first coming to No. 1 Minnesota Duluth and the last on Saturday. They have a 16-2 overall and a 7-2 league record.
Jennifer Hefner leads the team with 220 kills, averaging 3.38 per set. She is set up by Diedra Artz who has 706 assists this season, setting up 10.86 kills per set.
Defensively, the team has picked up 1,109 attacks while blocking 126 total times.
