Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Sophomore
Kaitlin VanWinkle had 11 kills while sophomore
Abby Wolpern had 10 to lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team to a 25-19, 25-13, 29-27 win over Upper Iowa in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Moorhead, Minn.
The Dragons improved to 13-8 overall and 6-7 in the NSIC with the win, while the Peacocks fell to 6-16 overall and 2-11 in the league.
VanWinkle hit .444 in 18 attempts for MSUM while Wolpern hit .368. Freshman
Brianna Atkins had nine kills and hit .667 for the match. Sophomore
Maggie Gruber had eight kills for MSUM, which finished with 46 for the match, compared to 30 for Upper Iowa. The Dragons hit .271 for the match compared to .090 for Upper Iowa.
Sophomore
Casie Baer had 27 set assists while junior
Sam Sullivan had 17. Sophomore
Amber Krenske had 13 digs while sophomore
Morgan Gradishar had 10.
The first set was tied at 4-4 before MSUM went on a 7-1 lead to surge into an 11-5 lead. VanWinkle and Wolpern each collected two kills during that stretch for the Dragons.
Upper Iowa cut the lead to 17-14 but the Dragons scored three in a row -- all on kills from Wolpern -- to stretch the lead to 20-14. MSUM was never threatened the rest of the way in a 25-19 win.
In the second set, MSUM held a slim 4-3 lead before scoring six of the next seven points to build a 10-4 lead. Wolpern and junior
Annie Palmquist had kills to spark the Dragons.
The Peacocks were within 13-8 but the Dragons outscored them 12-5 the rest of the set to cruise to a 25-13 lead.
The third set was a different story as MSUM trailed much of the way. Upper Iowa held a 9-8 lead and went on 7-3 run to stretch the lead to 16-11. MSUM responded with an 11-4 run to take the lead at 22-20. Gruber led the way with three kills while VanWinkle had two kills and a block assist.
From there, the set seesawed back and forth with five ties. With the set tied at 27-27, Gruber put down a kill, and the Dragons won the set on a service ace when Upper Iowa was whistled for an illegal rotation.
MSUM wraps up the home weekend with a match against Winona State on Saturday. The contest begins at 4 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead.
