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MOORHEAD, Minn. -- After playing its first 14 matches on the road, the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team will make its home debut this weekend against a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes. The Dragons will play host to Sioux Falls for a 7:30 p.m. match on Friday, and then face No. 2-ranked Southwest Minnesota State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Both matches will be at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead.
Live stats and live video links can be accessed above, while game notes can be found below.
The Dragons (9-5, 1-4 NSIC) went 0-3 on the road last week. They lost a tough five-set decision at Northern State on Sept. 18, and then lost to then-No. 2-ranked Concordia in three sets on Sept. 21 before closing the weekend with a four-set loss at No. 12-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato.
MSUM, which is just outside the AVCA Division II Top 25 after receiving 46 points in the latest poll, is led by senior
Heidi Lensing, who has 155 kills. Sophomore
Annie Palmquist has had a strong season with 150 kills, while freshman
Kaitlin VanWinkle has 122 and sophomore
Maggie Gruber 114. Senior
Anna Olson has 326 set assists, while freshman
Casie Baer has 176. Senior
Katy Ness has 321 digs and leads the NSIC in that category. VanWinkle has 51 total blocks.
As a team, MSUM is hitting .224, compared to .203 for its opponents.
Tammy Blake, the dean of NSIC volleyball coaches, is in her 18th year at MSUM. She is 309-232 at the school.
The Opponents
About Sioux Falls
The Cougars, who are newcomers to the NSIC, are 9-5 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC. The Cougars earned their first conference win on Sept. 22, a sweep of St. Cloud State. Prior to that USF had lost four straight conference games, all to teams ranked in the Top 25. Emily Johnson leads the Cougar hitting attack with 138 kills, while Sarah Kohler has 116 and Chanda Goedken 111. Alexa Reed has 495 set assists, while Andrea Odbert has 189 digs. Joel McCartney is in his first season as USF's head coach with a record of 9-5.
About SMSU
No. 2-ranked SMSU is 11-1 overall and 4-1 in the NSIC. The Mustangs' lone loss was at then No. 2-ranked Concordia-St. Paul earlier this month. SMSU will face Northern State prior to facing the Dragons.
Mary Groth leads the SMSU hitting attack at 126 kills, while Brooke Burmeister is at 125. Emilee Gutzmer has 467 set assists, while Rachel Westby has 153 digs. Devin Diedrich leads with 48 blocks. Terry Culhane is in ninth season as SMSU's head coach with a record of 217-61 at the school.
Climbing the Charts
--Ness is now third all-time in digs at MSUM with 1,791. She is just 16 digs away from second-place Emily Hegg.
--Lensing is at 1,132 kills and is now seventh all-time in school history. She is just 47 kills away from sixth.
--Olson is at 1,735 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 three times (Sept. 4, 10 and 24).
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.
