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What's Ahead
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team will attempt to change its October fortunes around this week as it plays three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches on the road. The Dragons are currently 0-4 in October.
First, on Tuesday, MSUM will travel west on I-94 to Bismarck, N.D. to face the University of Mary volleyball team. The Marauders have never beaten the Dragons in 20 series matches. Mary is currently 3-16 on the season and 0-10 in the NSIC. Last weekend, Wayne State and Augustana swept Mary in home matches. Mary has done a decent job defensively this season, ranking ninth in the conference in blocks at 1.75 per set. Senior middle blocker Allison Adams leads the Marauder blocking defense with 52 total blocks this season, 0.87 per set. Sophomore defensive specialist Alex Brown ranks fifth in the conference in digs, averaging 4.61 per set.
Next, the Dragons will travel northeast to face Bemidji State on Friday night. MSUM currently leads the all-time series against the Beavers, 73-54. BSU is 3-16 this season and 1-9 in NSIC play. The Beavers suffered home defeats at the hands of Upper Iowa in four sets and Winona State in three sets last weekend. One bright spot in the Beavers' season so far has been its serving attack. As a team, Bemidji State ranks eighth in the conference in services aces per set at 1.26. Altogether, the Beavers have five players who have more than 10 service aces this season. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Yost has the most service aces on the team with 16. Yost also leads the team in kills with 202 (2.41 per set).
On Saturday, the Dragons will travel to Crookston to face Minnesota Crookston. MSUM leads the all-time series against the Golden Eagles, 29-2. Crookston is 8-10 on the season and 2-7 in NSIC play. Winona State swept Crookston in three sets and Upper Iowa defeated the Golden Eagles in five sets in home matches last weekend for Crookston. UMC is ranked sixth as a team in blocks with 2.03 per set, led by sophomore middle hitter Erin Schwarz who has 50 total blocks. The Golden Eagles have uitilized a lethal weapon this season by the name of Brittany Looker, a senior outside hitter. Looker is currently ranked first in the NSIC in kills at 4.48 per set, tallying 296 kills so far this season.
A Look Back at Last Week
Last week, the Dragons dropped two home matches after being swept by Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.
On Friday night, Southwest Minnesota State came to Moorhead ranked No. 7 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll. SMSU defeated the Dragons in three sets 26-24, 25-12, and 25-23. The Mustangs showed why they are ranked in the top-10, as they notched 50 kills and hit .252 in the match. Junior Kaitlin VanWinkle led the way for the Dragons, posting 10 kills while sophomore Katie Meyers had 14 digs. Setters Sam Sullivan and Casie Baer each had 15 assists. The first set was tightly contested, with the score tied late at 22 and 24, but the Mustangs got two kills and took the set 26-24. SMSU controlled the second set and won 25-12. The third set was close again and was tied at 23 before two Mustang kills gave them the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
On Saturday, Sioux Falls 25-20 swept the Dragons in three sets, 25-20, and 25-17. The Cougars were coming off a win against then No.24-ranked Northern State the night before and built on that momentum to steal the match away from MSUM. VanWinkle again led the Dragons in kills with 10 while Sullivan had 14 assists. Sioux Falls scored the first five points of the match in the first set and controlled the match from there on out. MSUM fought back to 14-13 at one point, but the Cougars grabbed the first set 25-20. The scored was tied at 18-18 in the second set, but USF used another rally to take the set 25-20. Sioux Falls led by as much as 10 points in the third set and ultimately won the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.
VanWinkle Moves Up the Ranks
VanWinkle added eight blocks in two matches last week, increasing her per set average to 1.11. That number is good enough to be ranked second in the conference this season. She has 72 total blocks this season; 13 solo blocks and 59 block assists. VanWinkle has 240 block assists in her Dragon career, which is ninth most in Dragon history. She also has 49 solo blocks. 10 more solo blocks and she will also be ranked in the top-10 in that category. VanWinkle is also ranked seventh in the conference in hitting percentage at .349 and ninth in points per set at 4.15.
Gradishar Remains Consistent Option for Dragons
Junior Morgan Gradishar posted five kills in each of the Dragons last two matches, increasing her season total to 84. In the two matches, Gradishar had just one attack error and hit .391 in 23 swings. Gradishar has posted four more kills in 11 of the Dragons' 18 matches this season, providing consistent production off the bench. For the season, she is averaging 1.35 kills per set, is hitting .150, and has posted 18 total blocks.
Foss Still in Top-5 for Service Aces
Freshman Sydney Foss has been a key cog in the Dragon lineup this season, leading the team in service aces with 25. Foss has also seen time as the Dragon libero and had an impressive 29 digs in a four set win over Upper Iowa on Sep. 27. Her 0.38 service aces per set ranks her 3rd in the conference. With 10 matches to go this season and three years of eligibility left after this season, Foss has put herself in good position to be added to the Dragon record book. No. 10 in Dragon history for service aces is currently a three-way tie at 124.
