Sioux Falls, S.D.- The Minnesota State University Moorhead Volleyball team opened the NSIC Challenge with two victories over Fort Hays State and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.  In the opening match of the day, MSUM swept Fort Hays State in three sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19. After dropping the first set in the second match of the day, MSUM rallied back to win three straight sets, 23-25, 25-19, 28-16, 25-15, to defeat South Dakota Tech.

The Dragons are now 4-2 on the season.

In the match against Fort Hays State, junior Kaitlin VanWinkle led the Dragons in kills with 16 and blocks with 6. VanWinkle also hit an outstanding .600 in the match. Junior Casie Baer helped get the Dragon offense moving with 26 assists in the match. Junior Abby Wolpern had a balanced match with 11 kills and 13 digs while junior libero Amber Krenske led the team with 25 digs.

After the Tigers and Dragons split the first eight points of the first set, the Dragons scored the next seven points in the set to lead 11-4. The Dragons saw kills from senior Maggie Gruber, sophomore Kelsey Hartkopf, and junior Morgan Gradishar in the stretch. The Dragons finished off the set 25-16 after senior Sam Sullivan recorded a service ace for the final point.

In the second set, the Dragons jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, thanks to two kills from VanWinkle. MSUM held its largest lead of the set after a ball handling error by Fort Hays State pushed the score to 14-7. Gradishar finished off the set with a kill after an assist from Krenske for a score of 25-17.

The third set saw both teams battle back-and-forth for the majority of the set. MSUM pulled out to a 14-9 lead after a kill from Wolpern, followed by four straight points from Fort Hays State to pull within one point. The Dragons followed with stretches of four and five consecutive points to reopen their lead to 22-15. Gradishar contributed three kills in the stretch of five straight points. After two Tiger points on match point, Baer set Wolpern for a kill and the final point, giving the Dragons the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.

VanWinkle had an even more impressive performance in the second match against South Dakota Tech posting 20 kills with a .581 hitting percentage. Wolpern contributed 13 kills and Gruber had 10 kills. Baer had 28 assists while Sullivan record 22. The Dragons had three players with six or more blocks in the match as the Dragon defense frustrated the Hardrocker offense. VanWinkle and freshman Claire Grimm had six, Hartkopf had seven.

The Dragons dropped the first set in the match. After taking the first two points, the Hardrockers jumped out to a 6-4 lead. Neither team scored more than two consecutive points until South Dakota Tech scored five straight to take a 14-9 lead. The Dragons fought back and led in the set at 17-16 and 19-18 before falling 23-25 in the set.

The Dragons came out firing in the second set, scoring the first four points behind two kills from VanWinkle, a service ace from freshman Sydney Foss, and a kill from Grimm. After a Hardrocker point, MSUM scored another four straight to increase their lead to 8-1. South Dakota Tech pulled within three points twice, but MSUM controlled the entire set and won 25-19 after a kill from VanWinkle.

The third set was back-and-forth throughout the entire set. The score was tied 17 times in the set. The largest lead was when MSUM led 11-8. The Dragons were one point away from dropping the set when the senior combination of Sullivan and Gruber teamed up for the set and kill to tie the score at 25. MSUM ended up taking the set when Gruber served an ace for the set win, 28-26.

With the momentum completely on their side, MSUM jumped out to another quick start in the fourth set and lead 5-2 before a timeout from South Dakota Tech. The Dragons controlled the set from there on out, increasing the lead to 20-12 at one point. A final kill from VanWinkle clinched the match for the Dragons, who took the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.

MSUM returns to action tomorrow with two more matches in the NSIC Challenge. MSUM faces Missouri Western at 2 p.m. CT. and finishes the trip with Northwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. CT.