Live Stats (Northern match)
Live Stats (Concordia)
Live Stats (MSU Mankato)
Live Video (all three matches)

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team has climbed to No. 19 in the latest AVCA Division II Top 25 poll, which was released on Monday. The Dragons continue NSIC play with three more road matches this week, starting Tuesday at Northern State.

The Dragons will follow with matches at No. 2-ranked Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and No. 12-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato on Saturday.

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

MSUM climbed up three spots in the latest poll, surpassing NSIC school Wayne State, which is now No. 21. In all, six NSIC teams are ranked in the top 25 and another, Winona State, is receiving votes in the poll.

The Dragons (9-2, 1-1 NSIC) split a pair of matches last week, beating St. Cloud State in four sets on Sept. 14 before losing a five-set heartbreaker at No. 4-ranked Minnesota-Duluth on Sept. 15.

The Dragons' early-season success can be attributed to their hitting balance. Senior Heidi Lensing has 128 kills, followed by sophomore Annie Palmquist with 112 and freshman Kaitlin VanWinkle at 102. Sophomore Maggie Gruber has 89 kills while freshman Abby Wolpern has 74. As  team, the Dragons are hitting a solid .240, while holding their opponents to a .177 percentage.

Senior setter Anna Olson has 270 assists, while freshman Casie Baer has 143. Senior libero Katy Ness leads with 254 digs and 11 service aces. VanWinkle has made her presence known at the net with 42 total blocks.

Tammy Blake, the dean of NSIC volleyball coaches, is in her 18th year at MSUM. She is 309-229 at the school.

The Opponents
About Northern State
The Wolves are 5-5 on the season. One of their wins was over then-No. 13 Minnesota State, Mankato on Sept. 7 in Kearney, Neb. Northern has lost four of five matches, including losses at No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State last week. Kelsey Chambers leads the Northern hitting attack with 100 kills, while Drew Smith has 324 set assists. Sami Nygaard has 109 digs. Brent Aldridge is in his second season as Northern's head coach with a record of 18-19 at the school.

About Concordia-St. Paul
Five-time defending national champions Concordia is off to an 8-1 start, including a 2-0 in the NSIC. The No. 3-ranked Golden Bears swept No. 2-ranked Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls last weekend to extend their winning streak to five. CSP's only loss was to West Florida in four sets on Sept. 7. Cassie Haag leads the Golden Bear hitters with 111 kills, while Ellie Duffy has 108. Amanda Konetchy has 386 set assists, while Kara Pioske has 177 digs.  Brady Starkey is in his 10th season as Concordia's head coach with a record of 314-27 at the school.

About MSU Mankato
No. 11-ranked MSU Mankato is 7-3 on the season and 1-1 in the NSIC. The Mavericks split last weekend, topping Sioux Falls in five sets before being swept by No. 2 SMSU at home. Chelsea Fogarty leads the Mankato hitting corps with 139 kills, while Jill Storlie. Ellie Van De Steeg has 419 set assists, while Kelli Elhardt leads with 152 digs. Dennis Amundson is in his eight season as Mankato's head coach with a record of 144-76.

Climbing the Charts
--Ness is now third all-time in digs at MSUM with 1,724. She is just 83 digs away from second-place Emily Hegg.
--Lensing is at 1,105 kills and is eighth all-time in that category. She is just two kills away form seventh-place Amy Gernand
--Olson is at 1,679 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.