Live Stats (St. Cloud State match)
Live Stats (UMD match)
Live Video (both matches)
Fargo Forum Article on Katy Ness
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Fresh off of an 8-1 trip to Florida the No. 22-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on the road this week. The Dragons will open NSIC competition Friday at St. Cloud State for a 7 p.m. match, and then will play at No. 4-ranked Minnesota-Duluth at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The Dragons went 2-0 against the Huskies a year ago but lost at UMD in three sets.
Live stats and live video links can be accessed above, while game notes can be found below.
MSUM will take a six-match winning streak into conference play. Of the Dragons' eight wins, three have come against teams who were ranked in the AVCA Division II Top 25.
The Dragons were 5-0 last week, beating Florida Southern, Eckerd, Rollins, Northwood and Newberry. Senior libero
Katy Ness led the way with 122 digs, while senior hitter
Heidi Lensing had 60 kills. Sophomore
Annie Palmquist had 55 kills, while freshman
Kaitlin VanWinkle had 48. Senior setter
Anna Olson had 127 set assists while freshman Cassie Baer had 110.
Ness was named MVP of the Eckerd Classic after helping the Dragons go 3-0 at the event. Lensing and Palmquist also earned all-tournament honors at the event.
Lensing leads a balanced Dragon hitting attack with 108 kills, while VanWinkle has 84, Palmquist 81 and sophomore
Maggie Gruber with 58. Olson leads with 205 set assists while Ness has 212 digs. VanWinkle has 28 total blocks.
MSUM is hitting .250 for the season while holding opponents to a .173 hitting percentage.
Tammy Blake, the dean of NSIC volleyball coaches, is in her 18th year at MSUM. She is 308-228 at the school.
The Opponents
About St. Cloud State
The Huskies are 4-4 on the season. They went 1-3 at the Nebraska-Kearney tournament on Sept. 6 after going 3-1 at the Upper Iowa tournament to open the season. Ellie Dietzen leads SCSU with 84 kills while Rachel Burke has 72. Erin Ohlemann leads with 229 set assists while Brianne Stamer has 158 digs. As at sam, the Huskies are hitting .118. Michelle Blaeser is in her third season as the St. Cloud State head coach with a record of 24-40 at the school.
About Minnesota-Duluth
The No. 4-ranked Bulldogs are 9-0 on the season. The Bulldogs have swept five straight matches, with their most recent wins over Minnesota-Crookston and Ferris State on Sept. 8. Kate Lange leads UMD with 147 kills, while Kalli Lochner has 82. Jaclyn Barrette has 218 set assists, while Julie Rainey has 151 digs. As a team, UMD is hitting .415. Jim Boos is in his 10th season as UMD's head coach with a record of 277-52 at the school.
Climbing the Charts
--Ness is now third all-time in digs at MSUM with 1,682. She is just 125 digs away from second-place Emily Hegg.
--Lensing is at 1,085 kills and is eighth all-time in that category. She is just 22 kills away form seventh.
--Olson is at 1,614 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. Ness was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4, and she earned her second honor on Sept. 10.
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.
