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What's Ahead
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team returns home to Nemzek Fieldhouse this week to face two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents. The Dragons are 2-3 at home this season and 2-5 overall in October.
First, the St. Cloud State University volleyball team will make the trip to Moorhead to face MSUM on Friday night. The Huskies lead the all-time series between SCSU and MSUM 35-19. Last season, the Dragons defeated the Huskies in four sets in their only matchup of the year in St. Cloud. Junior Kaitlin VanWinkle had 16 kills in the victory. This season, St. Cloud State is 7-14 overall, 1-12 in the NSIC, and currently on a 11 match losing-streak. Last week, the Huskies fell to Minnesota Crookston (three sets), Minot State (three sets), and Mary (four sets). Senior Kaitlin Doughty leads the team in kills with 186. Senior setter Erin Ohlemann is seventh in the NSIC in assists per set at 9.89 and has 702 assists this season. Junior middle hitter Kellan Flynn leads the Huskie defense with 55 total blocks.
Next, Saturday afternoon the No. 2-ranked team in the country, Minnesota Duluth will come to town to take on the Dragons. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against MSUM 57-17. Last season, in their only meeting, UMD swept MSUM in three sets in Duluth. Junior Amber Krenske had 11 digs and a service ace in the loss. This season, the Bulldogs are 20-1 this season and a perfect 13-0 in conference play. UMD's only loss of the season came at the hands of the top team in the nation, Tampa. UMD is on a 14-match winning-streak and swept Bemidji State, Mary, and Minot State last week at home. The Bulldogs are first in the conference as a team in assists per set (14.78), kills per set (15.66), and opponent's hitting percentage (.137). Junior outside hitter is sixth in the conference in kills per set at 3.91 and junior setter Ashley Hinsch leads the conference in assists per set at 13.25. Senior libero leads the Bulldog defense with 5.71 digs per set, which is also most in the conference.
A Look Back at Last Week
Last week, the Dragons went 2-1 in three road matches. MSUM defeated Mary in three sets on Tuesday night, lost to Bemidji State in three sets on Friday night, and defeated Minnesota Crookston in three sets on Saturday afternoon.
First, the Dragons traveled west on I-94 and faced Mary on Tuesday night. Despite falling behind in the first two sets, MSUM swept Mary in three sets 25-21, 25-20, and 25-17. The Dragons hit .297 as a team and notched 45 kills in the victory to snap a four-match losing streak. Senior Maggie Gruber had 11 kills in the win while junior Casie Baer added 18 assists. Senior Sam Sullivan had 10 digs and VanWinkle posted five total blocks. Mary scored the first four points of the first set, but three kills from Gruber helped the Dragons even the score at 13, before the Dragons took the set 25-21. Mary led again 4-1 in the second set, but MSUM proved to be resilient in its battle back and won the set 25-20. The third set was tightly contest until the Dragons scored four straight points to gain a 12-9 advantage and took the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.
Next, on Friday night MSUM visited Bemidji to face Bemidji State. The Dragons came out flat and were swept in three sets 25-14, 25-23, and 25-13. VanWinkle had 10 kills to lead the Dragons while Sullivan posted 14 assists. The Beavers opened a 16-8 lead in the first set and went on to take the set 25-14. In the second set, the score was tied at 23, BSU rattled off two points and won 25-23. The Dragons had an 11-9 lead in the third set, but ended up dropping the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
Finally, on Saturday afternoon MSUM revenged its loss from the night before and defeated Minnesota Crookston in three sets, 25-21, 25-18, and 25-15. MSUM posted 47 kills in the match and had 11 total blocks, including five from VanWinkle. She also had 13 kills and hit .500 in 26 attack attempts. Sullivan added 21 assists and 12 digs in the victory. The Dragons fell behind once again in the first set, but held its first lead of the match at 16-15 and took the set 25-21 after a kill from Gruber. The Dragons scored the first four points of the set on blocks and took the set 25-18. The Dragons opened a 19-10 lead in the third set and took the set 25-15 to win the match.
Dragon Defense Remains Strong
The Dragons have been strong on the front-line defense this season and are now ranked fourth in the NSIC as a team in blocks per set at 2.18. As a team, MSUM has 161 total blocks. VanWinkle leads the Dragons with 87, followed by sophomore Kelsey Hartfkopf with 60, Gruber with 38, junior Abby Wolpern with 37, and freshman Claire Grimm with 33. VanWinkle's mark of 1.18 per set is second best in the NSIC this season.
Baer in the Top-10
With 44 assists in the last week, Baer is now in the top-10 in Dragon history in assists with 1,164 career assists. She has posted 435 assists this season and is averaging 5.88 assists per set. Baer just surpassed teammate Sullivan who notched her way into the top-10 two weeks ago. With 27 more assists this season, Baer will have increased her assist total in every season since she started playing in 2012. Baer had 267 as a freshman in 2012 and 462 as a sophomore in 2013. Baer will have an uphill battle if she wants to pass Anna Olson, who is currently ranked eighth and has 2,165 career assists.
Krenske Returns to Action
Junior Amber Krenske returned to action Friday night against Bemidji State after missing seven matches due to a knee injury. MSUM is glad to have her back in the libero role after shuffling three players in the libero shirt in her absence. Kresnke had 11 digs against Bemidji State and 15 digs in the victory over Minnesota Crookston. She leads the Dragons in digs with 248, averaging 4.86 per set.
