Live Stats (all three matches)
Live Video (all three matches)

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- After playing 18 of its first 20 matches on the road, the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team begins a five-match homestand this week, starting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Northern State. The Dragons will then follow by hosting Augustana on Friday (7 p.m. first serve) and Wayne State on Saturday (4 p.m. first serve).

MSUM will play eight of its final nine matches at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.

Live stats and live video links can be accessed above, while game notes can be found below.

The Dragons (12-8, 4-7 NSIC) lost to Upper Iowa in four sets and were swept by Winona State last weekend.

MSUM  is led by sophomore hitter Annie Palmquist, who has 228 kills and is hitting .241 for the season. Senior Heidi Lensing has 219 kills, while sophomore Maggie Gruber has 172 and freshman Kaitlin VanWinkle 157.  Senior setter Anna Olson has 531 set assists, while senior libero Katy Ness has 469 digs (best in the NSIC). VanWinkle leads with 74 total blocks, an average of 0.99 per game.

As a team, MSUM is hitting .225, compared to .201 for its opponents.

Tammy Blake, the dean of NSIC volleyball coaches, is in her 18th year at MSUM. She is 312-235 at the school.

The Opponents
About Northern State
The Wolves are 11-8 overall and 6-5 in the NSIC. They have won five matches in a row, including four on the road. They swept Winona State and Upper Iowa last weekend.
Kaleilani Kabalis led the way with 195 kills, while Kelsey Chambers has 192. Drew Smith has 703 set assists while Ella Campbell has 201 digs. Chelsea Chavez leads with 62 blocks.
As a team, Northern hits .209 while teams are hitting .184 against the Wolves.
Brent Aldridge is in his second season as Northern's head coach with a record of 24-22 at the school.

About Augustana
The Vikings are 14-6 overall and 8-3 in the NSIC.  They have won three in a row, including an upset of nationally-ranked Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 12. They also beat No. 12-ranked MSU Mankato on the road on Oct. 6.
Holly Hafemeyer leads the Augustana hitting attack with 245 kills, while ordain Spatenka has 214. Marissa Johnson has 611 set assists, while Grace Sanders has 276 digs. As a team, the Vikings are hitting .237, compared to .171 for their opponents.
Ashley Buckley is in her fifth season as Augustana's head coach with a record of 74-58 at the school.

About Wayne State
Wayne State is 15-6 overall and 7-4 in the NSIC. The Wildcats suffered a three-set loss to Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 13. Wayne State did hand then-No. 1-ranked Nebraska-Kearney its first loss on Oct. 10.
Cori Hobbs leads the Wildcats with 228 kills, while Lauren Sieckmann has 206. Leisa McClintock has 712 set assists. Cori Hobbs has 319 digs, while Alex Armes has 87 blocks. As a team, Wayne State is hitting .229 while allowing opponents to hit .144.
Scott Kneifl is in his eighth season at Wayne State with a record of 195-66 at the school.

Climbing the Charts
--Ness has moved into second all-time in career digs at MSUM with 1,939.
--Lensing is at 1,198 kills and is now sixth all-time in school history. She is just 36 kills away from sixth.
--Olson is at 1,831 set assists, ranking her eighth all-time.

NSIC Players of the Week
Ness became the first MSUM player to earn NSIC Player of the Week honors this season, and has earned the Defensive Player of the Week honors five times (Sept. 4, 10, 24 and Oct. 1), most of any player. She leads the NSIC at 6.17 digs per set and is ranked seventh in the nation in that category.

NSIC preseason poll
The Dragons were picked to finish seventh in the NSIC preseason coaches poll. The Dragons received 146 votes in the poll, just five away from sixth-place Augustana. Defending national champion Concordia led the poll with 225 points and 15 first-place votes. The regular-season champion will be determined by a 20-game conference schedule and will host the top eight teams qualifying in the NSIC tournament, to be held on Nov. 16-18.