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MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team is back in action this weekend at the Peggy Martin Challenge hosted by Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo. MSUM will open with Pittsburg State and Emporia State on Friday and wrap up the weekend against No. 7-ranked Central Missouri and McKendree on Saturday.

The Dragons will meet Pittsburg State for a second time with the Gorillas holding a 1-0 edge in the series. MSUM and Emporia State will meet for a third time with the Hornets holding a 2-0 series lead. Central Missouri and MSUM will meet for a second time with the Jennies holding a 1-0 advantage. The Dragons and McKendree will meet for the first time.

About MSU Moorhead
The Dragons got off to a 4-0 start with four wins at the Winona State tournament. MSUM swept Michigan Tech, Northwest Missouri State and Upper Iowa and then topped Winona State in five sets to cap off the weekend.  Sophomore Amber Krenske was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after recording 83 digs in the four matches. She was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore Kaitlin VanWinkle, who had an excellent weekend for MSUM with 47 kills and 16 total blocks. Junior Maggie Gruber had 38 kills while junior Annie Palmquist had 35. Sophomore Casie Baer had 74 set assists while junior Sam Sullivan had 68. Tammy Blake, the dean of NSIC volleyball coaches, is in her 19th year at MSUM with a record of 321-239.

About Pittsburg State
The Gorillas are 0-4 on the season after dropping four matches at the Pitt State Classic. Pittsburg State was swept by Ouachita Baptist, Rockhurst and Missouri Western and lost in four sets to Southeastern Oklahoma State. Crystal Whitten leads Pittsburg State with 52 kills, while Hayley Hansford has 111 set assists. Jordan Rehm leads with 64 digs.  The Gorillas are hitting just .076 as a team. Head Coach Ibraheem Suberu is in his 15th season at Pitt State with a record of 248-225 at the school.

About Emporia State
Emporia State is off to a 4-0 start on the season, with four wins at the MSU Hampton Invitational. The Hornets beat Southwestern Oklahoma, Southern Nazarene, McMurry and Northwestern Oklahoma at the event. Katie Deutschmann leads the Emporia hitting attack with 35 kills, while Josie Williams has 33 and Paige Vanderpool 32. Macki Pankratz leads with 70 set assists, while Kelly Holden has 77 digs. Bing Xu is in his eighth season as Emporia State's volleyball coach with a record of 173-63.

About Central Missouri
The No. 7-ranked Jennies are 4-0 on the season after sweeping four matches at the Hilltopper-Rattler Classic. Central Missouri swept Adams State, Texas Woman's, Minnesota Crookston and Western New Mexico at the event. Taylor Goodness led the way with 42 kills while Haley Thompson had 35. Julia Bates had 145 set assists while Annie Reilly had 58 digs for the tournament. Central Missouri hit an impressive .338 as a team. Flip Piontek is in his fifth season as Central Missouri's head coach with a record of 126-22.

About McKendree
McKendree is 1-3 on the season after opening at the West Florida Invitational. The team beat Albany State but lost to Wheeling Jesuit, Florida Institute of Technology and Arkansas-Monticello. Bailey Kampwerth leads the team with 46 kills while Hannah Wessel has 28. Rebecca Nauman has 126 set assists while Maddie Kelly leads with 42 digs. as a team, McKendree hits .151. Lisa Orlet is in her second season as McKendree's head coach with a record of 16-19.

MSU Moorhead Notes
--Sophomore Kaitlin VanWinkle's excellent weekend at the Winona State tournament has put her at the top of the NSIC in blocking at 1.14 blocks per set. She is also ranked in the top 10 in hitting percentage (.387), kills (3.36 per set) and points 57.5.  

--Sophomore Amber Krenske is ranked first in the NSIC in digs per set at 5.93. She is part of a Dragon defensive attack that ranks first in the NSIC at 19.79 digs per set.

--The 4-0 start is MSUM's first since the 2005 season, when the Dragons started the year 13-0.

--The match against Central Missouri will be the first against an opponent ranked in the AVCA Top 25 this season.

--Juniors Maggie Gruber and Annie Palmquist are two of the Dragons' most experienced returning hitters, and both had solid weekends at Winona. Gruber had 38 kills and also was second on the team in blocks at 10. Palmquist had 35 kills and six blocks.

--Junior Sam Sullivan and sophomore Casie Baer share the setting duties for MSUM and the two combined for 142 assists at Winona.

--Sophomore Morgan Gradishar, who missed the 2012 season with an injury, made a triumphant return at the Winona State tournament. She was fourth on the team with 28 kills and second on the team with 50 digs.