Live Video
Live Stats
What's Ahead

MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team returns to Nemzek Fieldhouse this weekend for two NSIC matches including one top ten team who travels north to the Red River Valley.

First, on Friday, the No. 7-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs come to Moorhead to take on the Dragons. SMSU leads the all-time series over the Dragons 55-46. The Mustangs will be the Dragons' third consecutive opponent ranked in the top-25. SMSU is currently 11-5 on the season and 6-2 in the NSIC. Each of the Mustang's five losses has come at the hands of a top-25 team. The Mustangs are currently on a four-match winning streak, defeating Minnesota Crookston, Bemidji State, Minot State, and Mary all in three straight sets. SMSU brings a powerful offensive attack to Nemzek, hitting .252 as a team, good enough to rank fourth in the NSIC. Junior Abby Thissen leads the Mustang attack with 186 this season and is hitting a remarkable .316. Freshman Kenzie Beekman has also been a staple in the SMSU offense, posting 183 kills while also leading the team in service aces with 16.

On Saturday afternoon, MSUM faces the Sioux Falls Cougars. The Dragons lead the all-time series over the Cougars 3-1. Right now, Sioux Falls is 8-9 on the season and 3-5 in NSIC play. After starting conference play with three straight losses, the Cougars have won three out of its last four matches, defeating Bemidji State, Minnesota Crookston, and Mary before falling to Minot State in five sets last Saturday. The Cougars enter the week ranked in the top five in the NSIC in hitting percentage (fifth at .245), blocks per game (fifth at 2.09), and services aces per game (third at 1.67). Seniors' Emily Johnson and Kate Hart lead the offense for the Cougars, posting 184 and 167 kills, respectively. 

A Look Back at Last Week

The Dragons struggled on the road last week, dropping two matches against two top opponents ranked in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll. 

First, on Friday the Dragons traveled to Sioux Falls, S.D. to face the then No. 16-ranked Augustana Vikings. Augie defeated the Dragons in three sets, 25-11, 26-24, and 25-20. Leading the way for the Dragons was junior Kaitlin VanWinkle, who had 14 kills and hit a season-high .619 in 21 attack attempts. Junior Casie Baer contributed 17 assists and seven digs in the loss. The Dragons fought hard in the second set to pull even with the Vikings, but failed to take the set after four lead changes and nine ties. Augie pulled out to an early 7-3 lead in the third set. MSUM decreased the lead to one at 18-17, but the Vikings took control once again and took the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.

Next, on Saturday the Dragons traveled even farther south to Wayne, Neb. to face the No. 13-ranked Wayne State Wildcats. Wayne State beat the Dragons in four sets, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21, and 25-17. Junior Abby Wolpern led the Dragons with 14 kills while senior Sam Sullivan had 21 assists and 11 digs. Already down one set, the Dragons trailed 11-6 in the second set when they rallied off five straight points to tie the score at 11. They would eventually take the second set 25-23, but dropped the next two sets and the match 3-1.

Dragons' Making History

With 21 assists against Wayne State and 12 against Augustana, Sullivan now has 1,086 assists in her career, good enough to be ranked tenth in Dragon Volleyball history. That number eclipsed Susan Kolbow, who played for the Dragons from 2001-2004 and had 1,061 assists. Sullivan currently has 279 assists in the 2014 season and is averaging 4.73 assists per set. She posted a season-high 23 assists in a loss at Northern State on Sep. 16. Sullivan's career high in assists for a match is 54. She posted that mark twice, in back-to-back matches on Oct. 5, 2013 and Oct 11, 2013 in home matches against Augustana and Minnesota Crookston.

VanWinkle and senior Maggie Gruber have already slated their spots in Dragon history this season and are currently ranked ninth and tenth in block assists with 262 and 234, respectively. VanWinkle posted a season high total blocks on Sep. 5 against Colorado Christian when she had eight. Her career-high total blocks occurred on Oct. 27, 2012 when she had 12 against St. Cloud State. With seven more solo blocks, VanWinkle will take over sole-possession of tenth place in the Dragon record books for solo blocks with 60. Gruber's season-high in total blocks happened against Bentley on Sep. 6 and her career high was 10 against Northern State on Sep. 24, 2013.

VanWinkle Continues Remarkable Season

VanWinkle is having her best season as a Dragon in 2014. She leads the Dragons in numerous categories; including kills (200), kills per set (3.39), hitting percentage (.352), solo blocks (12), block assists (52), and blocks per set (1.08). Her mark of 1.08 blocks per set ranks fourth in the NSIC and her .352 hitting percentage marks her at seventh in the conference. VanWinkle has posted double-digit block numbers in 10 of 16 matches this season and has two matches of 20 kills. She has also had five or more total blocks in five matches this season.

Meyers Gets Her Shot

Sophomore Katie Meyers saw her first action of the season last week, playing in one set against Augustana and all four sets against Wayne State. Meyers made the most of her opportunity against the Wildcats, posting 14 digs while only making one receiving error in 45 attempts for a receiving percentage of .978.