Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team stretched its winning streak to five with a pair of wins Friday at the Eckerd College Classic in St. Petersburg, Fla.  MSUM (7-1) outlasted Rollins, 25-15, 28-30, 22-25, 25-17, 15-10 and defeated Northwood (Mich.), 25-19, 25-19, 25-20.

In the win over Rollins, the Dragons rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the match to secure the win. Sophomore Annie Palmquist led another balanced hitting attack with 16 kills, while senior Heidi Lensing added 15. Freshman Kaitlin VanWinkle had 12 kills, while sophomore Maggie Gruber had 11 and freshman Abby Wolpern 10.

Freshman setter Casie Baer had 31 set assists, three service aces and 12 digs, while senior Anna Olson had 28 set assists and 12 digs. Senior Katy Ness had 33 digs, a match-high.

“It was a great match,” MSUM head coach Tammy Blake said. “We played amazing defense in the end to win.”

Down 2-1 in the match, the Dragons mounted their comeback. Down 3-1, they scored nine of the next 11 points to build a 10-5 lead. That was keyed by two kills from sophomore Sam Sullivan and kills from Palmquist and Lensing. Lensing also had two block assists.

The Dragons were never threatened the rest of the way in earning a 25-17 win, setting up a decisive fifth set.

MSUM got off to a strong start to start the fifth set, taking a 6-1 lead. Wolpern had a block and a kill, while Palmquist had a kill and VanWinkle a service ace. Rollins cut the Dragon lead to 8-7, but a kill from Lensing helped MSUM stem the tide and take a 9-7 lead.  The Dragons led 10-8 before scoring three straight points – which included kills from VanWinkle and Lensing and a service ace from Baer – to secure a 13-8 lead.  A block from Wolpern and VanWinkle sealed a 15-10 Dragon win.

In the opening set, MSUM led 13-12 before a 6-0 run broke the set open.  Sullivan and VanWinkle each had two kills while both teamed up on a block as well as the Dragons took a 19-12 lead. MSUM was never threatened in earning a 25-15 win.
Rollins won a marathon second set, 30-28 and prevailed in the third, 25-22, to leave the Dragons in a 2-1 hole. However, strong performances in the final two sets helped MSUM earn its second straight five-set win.

Despite playing for the third time in less than 24 hours – and coming off of back-to-back five-set wins – the Dragons showed no signs of letting up against Northwood.  Lensing led the way with 11 kills, while VanWinkle added nine kills and senior Meredith Egeland had eight, hitting .471. Olson had 20 set assists and Baer had 15. Ness had 15 digs.

“I was impressed with how we won in three sets after we won a hard-fought five-set match with Rollins earlier in the day and a five-set match against Eckerd on Thursday,” Blake said.

MSUM set the tone right away in the first set. Holding a 6-5 lead, the Dragons scored five points in a row – with freshman Amber Krenske sparking the run from the service line – to build an 11-5 lead. Egeland had two kills during that run while Sullivan added one. The Dragon lead never dropped below three points as MSUM cruised to a 25-19 win.

In the second set, the Dragons fell behind 5-0 before scoring 10 of the next 14 points to take a 10-9 lead.  MSUM held a slim 14-12 lead before scoring six of the next seven points – sparked by two kills from Lensing and kills from Sullivan and Egeland – to take a 20-13 lead. The Dragons were never threatened in cruising to a 25-19 win.

MSUM led for much of the final set before pulling away late. The Dragons held a 17-15 lead but ended the set by outscoring Northwood 8-5 to earn a 25-20 win.

The Dragons wrap up the Eckerd Classic at 9 a.m. Central time Saturday against Newberry. Live stats and live video can be accessed at the link below.

Live stats and video for Saturday's match