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The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team caps off its Florida trip with four matches to conclude the week. The Dragons (4-1) will face Eckerd at 6 p.m. on Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla., and then will play three matches as part of the Eckerd College Classic starting Friday.
At the Eckerd Classic, MSUM, which is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, will face Rollins, Northwood (Fla.) and Newberry at the event.
The Dragons are off to a 4-1 start on the season, going 3-1 at the Rollins Invitational last weekend. The tournament included wins over No. 19-ranked Eckerd and No. 22-ranked Rollins. Seniors
Heidi Lensing and
Katy Ness earned all-tournament honors at the event.
MSUM followed up with a four-set win over Florida Southern on Tuesday.
For the season, Lensing leads a balanced Dragon attack with 65 kills. Freshman
Kaitlin VanWinkle has 48, while sophomore
Maggie Gruber has 44. Sophomores
Annie Palmquist and
Sam Sullivan have 35 and 30, respectively.
Senior setter
Anna Olson leads the way with 107 assists, while Sullivan has 85. Ness leads with 115 digs, while VanWinkle has 17 total blocks.
As a team, the Dragons are hitting .257, compared to just .178 for their opponents.
Tammy Blake is in her 18
th season as Dragon head coach with a record of 304-228 at the school
Upcoming Opponents
Eckerd
The Dragons, who beat Eckerd in four sets at the Rollins Invitational, will meet the Tritons for a second time on Thursday. Eckerd, which is ranked No. 22 in the latest AVCA poll, is led by Lindsay Biggs with 43 kills, while Alex Laton and Taylor Whaley have 31 each. Madison Burr has 121 set assists, while Biggs has 67 digs for the Tritons, who are members of the Sunshine State Conference. Michelle Piantadosi is in her first season as Eckerd's head coach.
Rollins
The Tars, who lost to MSUM in four sets on Sept. 1, are 2-2 on the season. Megan Hodges leads the Rollins hitting attack with 52 kills, while Kiana Parks has 72 set assists. Collyn Welsch has 82 digs to lead the Tars' backrow defense. Sindee Snow is in her 12
th season as the Rollins head coach with a record of 217-170 at the school, which is a member of the Sunshine State Conference.
Northwood
Northwood, a member of the Great Lakes Athletic Conference, is 3-1 on the season. The Timberwolves are coming off of a loss to Mercyhurst on Sept. 1. Juliia Pakhomenko leads the Northwood hitting attack with 40 kills, while Jordan Dunn has 100 set assists. Pakhomenko leads with 67 digs. Tim Koth is in his seventh season as Northwood's head coach with a record of 105-78 at the school.
Newberry
Newberry, a member of the South Atlantic Conference, is off to a 5-0 start on the season. The Wolves swept Lander on Sept. 4 for their fifth straight win. Samantha Parrish leads Newberry with 65 kills on the season, while Lauren Prachar has 33. Rachel Moran and Blair Browning have 84 and 82 set assists, respectively. Elayni Stokes has 63 digs for the Wolves. Todd Hay is in his first season as Newberry's head coach.
Lensing Hits Milestone
Lensing became the 10
th Dragon player to surpass 1,000 kills for her career during the Dragons' win over Eckerd on Aug. 31. Lensing, who entered the season with 977 kills, leads the Dragons with 65 kills through five matches.
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. Ness is closing in on 1,600 career digs.
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.
