Box Score
MANKATO, Minn. – Capping off a rugged 14-match schedule away from home to start the season, the No. 19-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team fell to No. 12-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato, 24-26, 33-31, 25-22, 25-20 in NSIC action Saturday in Mankato, Minn. The Dragons fell to 9-5 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC with the loss, while Mankato improved to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the league.
The match was the Dragons' seventh against a team ranked in the AVCA Division II Top 25 this season.
Senior libero
Katy Ness led the Dragons with 27 digs, while sophomore
Annie Palmquist paced the hitting attack with 17 kills. Sophomore
Sam Sullivan added 13 kills, while sophomore
Maggie Gruber added 11 and senior
Heidi Lensing 10. Senior
Anna Olson had 33 set assists while Sullivan added 23.
The first two sets were highly competitive. In the opening set, MSUM faced a 22-16 deficit but stormed back to take a 24-23 lead thanks to an 8-1 run. Sullivan had two kills and Lensing one during that stretch, while Ness had a service ace.
Mankato tied the set at 24-24, but kills from Palmquist and freshman
Kaitlin VanWinkle gave the Dragons a 26-24 win.
The second set went down to the wire, and then some. MSUM trailed 22-19 at one point but battled back to take a 24-23 lead on a Palmquist kill. MSUM had five set points but was unable to finish the win off. MSU Mankato tied the set at 31-31, and back-to-back kills gave the Mavericks a 33-31 win to even the match at a set apiece.
In the third set, MSUM built a 10-7 lead at one point before the Mavericks came back to take a 14-13 lead. MSUM held an 18-16 lead after a Palmquist kill, but the seesaw battle continued as the Mavericks edged into a 21-20 advantage. A Gruber kill made it 21-21, but the Mavericks scored four of the final five points of the set to earn a 25-22 win.
The Dragons were up 7-5 in the fourth set before the Mavericks came back to take a 13-11 lead. The Dragons were within 14-13 after a VanWinkle kill, but got no closer as the Mavericks pulled away to a 25-20 win.
VanWinkle had nine kills and three block assists for MSUM. Sullivan and freshman
Amber Krenske contributed 12 digs each, while freshman
Casie Baer had nine.
The Dragons make their long-awaited 2012 home debut on Friday against Sioux Falls. The match begins at 7:30 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall.
