Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team won the first set, but No. 8-ranked Southwest Minnesota State won the final three to secure a 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21 win over the Dragons in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Moorhead, Minn.
 
MSUM fell to 15-12 overall and 8-11 in the NSIC with the loss, while SMSU improved to 22-6 overall and 16-3 in the league.
 
Three Dragons finished with 11 kills in the match: sophomore Kaitlin VanWinkle, redshirt freshman Kristy Bruni (career-high) and freshman Brianna Atkins. Sophomore Maggie Gruber added nine kills, one solo block and seven assists. Sophomore setter Casie Baer had 21 set assists while junior Sam Sullivan had 19. Sophomore Morgan Gradishar had 11 digs while Atkins had seven block assists.
 
MSUM hit .228 for the match compared to .256 for the Mustangs.
 
The Dragons held a 15-14 lead in the opening set but went on an 8-4 run to push the lead to 23-18.  Atkins led the run with three kills while Bruni had two. SMSU came back to within 24-23, but after a timeout, Gruber pounded down a kill to give the Dragons a 25-23 win. Atkins had five kills in the opening set while Gruber had four.
 
The Dragons were within 8-7 in the second set but SMSU pulled away, thanks in large part to a 8-2 run which pushed the lead to 16-9. The Dragons were within 23-18 after VanWinkle and sophomore Abby Wolpern teamed up for a block but the Mustangs scored the final two points to earn a 25-18 win.
 
In the third set, MSUM held a 9-8 lead after a Gruber service ace but SMSU came back to take a 20-15 lead. SMSU led 23-18 at one point before the Dragons scored four points in a row – sparked by two block assists from Gruber and a kill from Wolpern – to cut the lead to 23-22. MSUM got no closer, as a service error – followed by a service ace from Ellen Degler – sealed a 25-22 SMSU win.
 
The Dragons rebounded quickly to start the fourth set, storming out to a 10-2 lead. VanWinkle and Bruni each had three kills during that start for MSUM. The lead stood at 20-17 but the Dragons were outscored 8-1 the rest of the way as the Mustangs prevailed 25-21.
 
Baer and Sullivan had 10 digs each for MSUM, while sophomore Amber Krenske had nine.
 
The Dragons play host to Sioux Falls to wrap up the regular season on Saturday. The match begins at 4 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall. The Dragons are one game out of a spot for the NSIC tournament, trailing Sioux Falls and Minnesota Crookston by one game. Minnesota State is tied with MSUM at 8-11.