Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Senior Katy Ness eclipsed 2,000 digs for her career, but the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team once again suffered tough luck in a five-set match, losing a heartbreaker to Augustana, 19-25, 25-19, 14-25, 25-16, 18-16 in front of 643 fans Friday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn.

The Vikings, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Division II Top 25 poll, improved to 15-7 overall and 9-4 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while MSUM fell to 12-10 overall and 4-9 in the league.

Ness, who needed 18 digs entering the match, finished with 26 digs on the night and surpassed the milestone early in the fourth set. She is just the second Dragon player to surpass that mark for her career, joining Calla Oftedahl, who holds the record at 2,331 digs. Ness now has 2,008 for her career.

The tough loss for MSUM came despite an impressive night blocking the ball. The team finished with 17 total blocks, led by freshman Kaitlin VanWinkle, who had one solo and eight assists, and senior Meredith Egeland, who had eight assists.

Sophomore Maggie Gruber paced the Dragons' hitting attack with 15 kills. Senior Heidi Lensing added 12 kills and also had 21 digs and three block assists. Sophomore Annie Palmquist had 11 kills while Egeland had nine and VanWinkle seven. Senior Anna Olson had 31 set assists and 13 digs, while freshman Casie Baer had 17 assists and 15 digs.

The hard-fought match was a see-saw battle from the start. The Dragons won the first and third games, while Augustana won the second and fourth.

In the decisive fifth set, the Dragons jumped out to a 7-2 lead and looked to be in control. The early run was sparked by kills from VanWinkle, Gruber, Egeland and Palmquist and a block from Egeland and freshman Abby Wolpern.

Augustana came back with an 11-2 run to take a 13-9 lead. The Dragons dug deep, however, and scored six of the next seven points to take a 15-14 lead. That run was led by two kills each from Gruber and VanWinkle and a block from Egeland and Gruber.

MSUM had match point but Augustana survived with two straight points. An Egeland kill tied the set at 16-16 but the Vikings scored the final two points to prevail 18-16 and earn the match victory.

The Dragons came out strong in the first set. Leading 5-4, they scored 12 of the next 14 points to build a commanding 17-6 advantage.  Palmquist led the charge with three kills. MSUM was never threatened in earning a 25-19 win.

Augustana turned the tables in the second set, jumped out to a 20-9 lead. MSUM fought back to within 21-8 after a Viking error but got no closer in falling 25-19.

The momentum shifted back to the Dragons' side in the third set. They were down 6-5 but went on a 13-3 run to surge into an 18-9 lead. Gruber led the hitters during that stretch with three kills while  Ness added a service ace. From there the Dragons cruised to a 25-14 win.

Once again, the momentum shifted back towards the Vikings. They stormed out to an 11-2 lead and while the Dragons battled back to within 20-15 before falling 25-16, setting up the decisive fifth set.

Freshman Amber Krenske added 13 digs for MSUM, while Gruber added five block assists.

MSUM wraps up the home weekend Saturday against Wayne State. The match begins at 4 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.