Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team held a 2-1 lead in the match, but Minnesota Crookston came back to win the final two sets in a 23-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 15-8 win over the Dragons in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM fell to 10-6 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC with the loss, while UMC improved to 8-8 overall and 3-5 in the league.

Sophomore Kaitlin VanWinkle had a match-high 19 kills to pace the Dragons, while junior Maggie Gruber had 18 and sophomore Morgan Gradishar had 13. Junior Sam Sullivan had 54 set assists while adding 18 digs. Sophomore Amber Krenske and freshman Katie Meyers each had 18 digs each.

The Dragons were up two sets to one and were in strong position to secure the win in four sets. They led 8-7 in the fourth set before going on a 10-5 run to build an 18-12 lead.  Gradishar led the way with three kills during that run.

However, the Golden Eagles battled back to take a 21-20 lead. The set was tied at 23-23 before Minnesota Crookston scored two straight points to take a 25-23 win.

MSUM jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the decisive fifth set, thanks to to block assists from sophomore Abby Wolpern and a kill from Gruber. The Golden Eagles turned the tide and led 7-6 when they scored six points in a row to build a 13-6 lead, on their way to a 15-8 win.

In the first set, MSUM built an early 5-1 advantage, thanks to two kills from Gruber and kills from Gradishar and Wolpern. The Dragons led 15-10 midway through the set but the Golden Eagles battled back to tie the set at 16-16.

UMC led 20-19 at one point before the Dragons regained the lead at 22-21 on a kill from Gradishar.   The set was tied at 23-23 before Gruber put down a kill and added a service ace to seal a 25-23 win for MSUM.

The second set was tied at 4-4 before the Golden Eagles went on an 8-3 run to take a 12-7 lead. MSUM, which trailed by as many as seven, cut the gap to 24-21 late after a VanWinkle kill but got no closer in a 25-21 loss, which evened the match at a set apiece.

MSUM rebounded with a strong third set. Leading 6-5, the Dragons pulled away with an 11-4 run that built a 17-9 lead. Gruber led the attack with three kills. The Dragons were never challenged on their way to a 25-15 win, which gave them the 2-1 lead in the match.

Junior Annie Palmquist had eight kills for MSUM, while Gruber led with six block assists. Wolpern added four. A big difference in the match was hitting percentage, as UMC hit .181 with 21 hitting errors, compared to MSUM, which hit .139 with 37 hitting errors.

The Dragons wrap up the weekend on Saturday at home against Bemidji State. The match begins at 5 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead.