SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Senior hitter Maggie Gruber recorded a season-high 15 kills to lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team to a 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18 win over Northwest Missouri State at the final match of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Challenge Saturday evening in Sioux Falls, S.D.

MSUM is now 5-3 on the year.

The win gave MSUM a split on the day, as the Dragons lost a five-set heartbreaker to Missouri Western, 25-23, 18-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-12.  MSUM finished the two-day event with a solid 3-1 mark.

In the win over Northwest Missouri State, Gruber led the way with her 15 kills, hitting a strong .312 in 32 attacks. Junior hitter Abby Wolpern had 11 kills while redshirt freshman Claire Grimm added 10. Junior setter Casie Baer had 24 set assists while senior setter Sam Sullivan added 18. Wolpern led with 18 digs while junior libero Amber Krenske added 15 and Baer 13. Sophomore Kelsey Hartkopf had five block assists.

The first set was tied at 15-15 before the Dragons scored five out of the next six points to take a 20-16 lead. Gruber, junior hitter Kaitlin VanWinkle and Grimm had kills during that run for the Dragons.  From there, MSUM steadily pulled away to a 25-20 win.

The Bearcats won the second set 25-17 to even the match at a set apiece. The Dragons rebounded in the third set and battled back from a 13-11 deficit to earn the win. They erased that deficit with five straight points --- with Sullivan, Gruber and Hartkopf recording kills and Krenske a service ace – to take a 16-13 lead. MSUM led by as many as seven before a late rally cut the Dragon lead to 24-22. The Dragons prevailed in the set 25-22 after a NWMS service error.

MSUM was down 9-8 in the fourth set before scoring six of the next seven points to take a 14-10 lead. Hartkopf had a kill and a block assist during that stretch for the Dragons. From there, MSUM was in control on its way to a 25-18 win to secure the four-set win.
In the opening match against Missouri Western, MSUM was down 2-1 but battled back to force a fifth set after winning the fourth but came up short.  Wolpern had a career-high 22 kills in the match while VanWinkle added 16 and Grimm added 10. Gruber had nine kills.
Baer had 38 set assists while Sullivan had 22. Krenske led with 24 digs while VanWinkle had one solo block and three assists.

Down 2-1 in the match, MSUM battled back to tie the match after winning a tough fourth set. The Dragons were down 21-18 before scoring five straight points – which included a kill and two block assists from VanWinkle – to take a 23-21 lead. Moments later, Wolpern slammed down a hill to give the Dragons a 25-23 win.

MSUM got down in the fifth set 11-6 but fought back to within 12-10 after a VanWinkle kill. However, they got no closer than two as Missouri Western went on to take a 15-12 win.

The Griffons claimed the first set – which saw 13 ties and four lead changes – by a 25-23 score. The Dragons came back to win the second set, 25-18, with Grimm and Gruber each recording four kills in the set.  Missouri Western won the third set 25-14 to take a 2-1 lead before MSUM rallied to tie the match and send it to the fifth set.

The all-tournament team for the event will be announced later this evening.

MSUM opens NSIC play on Tuesday at Northern State. The match begins at 7 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D.