Live Stats (Bemidji State match)
Live Stats (Crookston match)
Live Video (both matches)
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- After splitting a pair of matches at home, the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team returns to the road this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches. The Dragons will play at Bemidji State on Friday for a 7 p.m. match and will conclude the weekend trip at Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday (5 p.m. first serve).
Live stats and live video links can be accessed above, while game notes can be found below.
The Dragons (10-6, 2-5 NSIC) split their first two home matches of the season, sweeping Sioux Falls on Sept. 28 before losing to No. 2-ranked Southwest Minnesota State in four sets on Sept. 29.
MSUM, which is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Division II Top 25 poll, is led by sophomore hitter
Annie Palmquist, who has 178 kills and is hitting .265 for the season. Senior
Heidi Lensing has 166 kills, while freshman
Kaitlin VanWinkle has 136 and sophomore
Maggie Gruber has 127. Senior setter
Anna Olson has 381 set assists, while senior libero
Katy Ness has 377 digs (best in the NSIC). VanWinkle leads with 63 total blocks, an average of 1.03 per game.
As a team, MSUM is hitting .223, compared to .195 for its opponents.
Tammy Blake, the dean of NSIC volleyball coaches, is in her 18th year at MSUM. She is 310-234 at the school.
The Opponents
About Bemidji State
The Beavers are 3-11 overall and 1-6 in the NSIC. Bemidji State has lost six matches in a row, including road matches at Winona State and Upper Iowa last weekend. Bemidji's last win was Sept. 14 at Minot State. Bethany Thompson leads the BSU hitting attack with 198 kills, while Courtney Volkmann has 451 set assists. Elissa Christensen leads with 164 digs, while Rachel Craig has 25 blocks. As a team, Bemidji State is hitting .166, compared to .245 for its opponents. Wayne Chadwick is in his third season as Bemidji State's head coach with a record of 21-49 at the school.
About Minnesota-Crookston
The Golden Eagles are 7-7 overall and 3-4 in the NSIC. They have lost four matches in a row, including two road matches at Upper Iowa and Winona State last weekend. Brittany Looker leads the UMC hitting attack at 132 kills, followed by Amanda Swann at 119. Paige Mitchell has 211 set assists, while Chelsea Wiesner has 222 digs. Morgan VanGerpen has 35 blocks. As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting the exact same percentage as their opponents -- .164. Lee Anderson is in his sixth season as UMC's head coach with a record of 35-124 at the school.
Climbing the Charts
--Ness has moved into second all-time in career digs at MSUM with 1,847.
--Lensing is at 1,143 kills and is now seventh all-time in school history. She is just 47 kills away from sixth.
--Olson is at 1,790 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 four times (Sept. 4, 10, 24 and Oct. 1).
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.
