Box Score
FAYETTE, Iowa -- Senior Heidi Lensing had a match-high 20 kills, but the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team fell at Upper Iowa on Friday night, dropping a 21-25, 27-25, 27-25, 25-17 decision in Fayette, Iowa. The Dragons fell to 12-7 overall and 4-6 in the league, while Upper Iowa improved to 12-7 overall and 6-4 in the league.
 
Lensing hit .231 in 52 attack attempts for the Dragons. Sophomore Annie Palmquist added 16 kills, while sophomore Maggie Gruber contributed 14. Senior Anna Olson had 54 set assists, while senior Katy Ness had 30 digs.
 
MSUM hit .244 in the match, compared to .285 for Upper Iowa. The Peacocks had 10 total blocks in the match, compared to three for the Dragons.
 
“Upper Iowa did a great job of blocking us,” MSUM head coach Tammy Blake said. “That was the difference in the match.”
 
The Dragons got off to a good start, building a 10-6 lead in the opening set. Palmquist led the way during that stretch with four kills, while senior Meredith Egeland, had two. Upper Iowa closed the gap to 20-18, but the Dragons finished the set strong by scoring five out of the final eight points to secure a 25-21 win. Lensing had four kills during that stretch.
 
MSUM got off to a good start in the second set as well, storming out to a 10-4 lead.  Lensing had three kills for the Dragons to spark the early surge, while freshman Kaitlin VanWinkle and Gruber each had a kill and a block assist.
 
However, Upper Iowa battled back and eventually took a 15-14 lead, and from there, the set was close the rest of the way. Upper Iowa led 24-22, but kills from VanWinkle and Gruber tied the set at 24-24. The set was tied at 25-25 after a Gruber kill, but the Peacocks recorded back-to-back kills to earn a 27-25 win.
 
The third set was also close as there were 10 ties and four lead changes. MSUM was down 17-13 at one point but fought back to tie the set at 22-22 after a Lensing kill. The Dragons had set point after an Upper Iowa error but were unable to close things off as Upper Iowa fought to another 27-25 win.
 
The momentum from the two close set wins carried over into the fourth set for the Peacocks as they jumped out to a 15-9 lead and rolled to a 25-17 win.
 
VanWinkle added eight kills and Egeland seven for MSUM. Freshman Casie Baer had 13 digs and five set assists.
 
The Dragons wrap up the weekend road trip Saturday at Winona State. The match begins at 4 p.m. in Winona, Minn. After the match at Winona, MSUM will play eight of its final nine matches at home.