MOORHEAD, Minn. – Sophomore hitter Carly Masloski had a match-high 14 kills to lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team to a 26-24, 25-22, 25-22 win over Minnesota State, Mankato in action Friday night at the Nemzek Fieldhouse.
 
MSUM is now 12-6 overall and 5-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while Minnesota State is 12-6 overall and 6-4 in the league.
 
Senior setter Casie Baer had 28 set assists for the Dragons, while senior libero Amber Krenske had 16 digs. MSUM's blocking proved vital as the Dragons finished with 11 team blocks, compared to seven for the Mavericks. Senior middle blocker Kaitlin VanWinkle had one solo block and six assists for MSUM, while senior hitter Abby Wolpern had six block assists.
 
Another key statistic was serving. MSUM finished with three aces and three errors, while Minnesota State had four aces and 13 service errors.
 
All three sets were close, as the match featured 21 ties and 13 lead changes.
 
The Dragons faced a 5-1 deficit in the opening set but scored seven straight points to take an 8-5 lead. Krenske served six of those points, including a service aces to bring MSUM within 5-3, while VanWinkle and Wolpern had two assisted blocks each.
 
MSUM's biggest lead of the set was six points on three occasions, including at 20-14 after a Maverick service error. Minnesota State fought back to tie the set at 24-24, forcing a Dragon timeout.
 
VanWinkle and Wolpern teamed up for a block to put the Dragons up 25-24, and a ballhandling error by the Mavericks clinched a 26-24 MSUM win.
 
Masloski, who had five kills in the first set, was critical in the second set. She had six hills to pace all hitters during that frame. The Dragons trailed 14-12 at one point but scored four points in a row – which included a kill and block assist from VanWinkle – to take a 16-14 lead.  The Mavericks were within 16-15 before MSUM scored six of the next seven points to build a 22-16 advantage. Masloski had three kills during that stretch to pace MSUM.
 
Minnesota State cut the lead to 24-22, but a Wolpern kill ended the Mavericks' rally hopes as MSUM prevailed 25-22.
 
The third set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. The set was tied at 21-21 before a Maverick error, followed by a solo block by junior middle blocker Kelsey Hartkopf, put the Dragons up 23-21. Minnesota State cut within 23-22 but committed back-to-back errors to help the Dragons seal a 25-22 win.
 
VanWinkle had five kills and Wolpern four for MSUM, which hosts No. 1-ranked Concordia-St. Paul at 5 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up the homecoming weekend. Concordia lost in four sets to Northern State on Friday.