MINOT, N.D. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team battled back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth set, but the Dragons' comeback fell just short in a 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 24-26, 16-14 loss to Minot State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Thursday night in Minot, N.D.

MSUM fell to 7-2 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC, while Minot State improved to 5-5 overall and 1-0 in the league.

"I give credit to Minot State for the defense they played," MSUM head coach Tammy Blake said. "I am proud of how hard my team fought to come back from being down two sets."

Junior Sam Sullivan had 26 set assists and 14 digs for MSUM, while sophomore Casie Baer had 21 set assists and 11 digs. Sophomore Morgan Gradishar had 13 kills and 19 digs, while sophomore Kaitlin VanWinkle had 13 kills, one solo block and six assisted blocks. Junior Maggie Gruber had 10 kills while junior Annie Palmquist had nine. Freshman Katie Meyers had 19 digs while sophomore Abby Wolpern had 13.

A big difference in the match was hitting percentage. Minot State hit .235 with 23 hitting errors, while MSUM hit .149 with 32 hitting errors.

The Dragons were down 2-0 in the match, but won sets three and four to force a decisive fifth set.  The set was tied at 5-5 before Minot State scored the next three points to take an 8-5 lead.
Minot State led 11-7 and held a 14-13 lead before a Palmquist kill tied the set at 14-14. The Beavers then recorded the next two points to earn the 16-14 win.

The Beavers won the first two sets 25-19 and 25-15 were in position to sweep the match with a 23-19 lead in the third set. That is when MSUM began its comeback.

They scored the final six points of the third set -- which included kills from Palmquist, Gruber and Sullivan and a service ace from Meyers -- to take a 25-23 win.

MSUM led 17-13 in the fourth set before Minot State battled back to tie the set at 20-20. The set was tied at 24-24 before MSUM took the lead at 25-24 after a Minot error, and won the set at 26-24 after Wolpern and Gruber teamed up for a block, sending the match to the fifth set.

Wolpern added seven kills for MSUM, while Gruber and Palmquist had four block assists each.

MSUM makes its 2013 home debut on Saturday against Mary. The match begins at 4 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall.