Volleyball | 10/19/2015 4:49:00 PM

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What's Ahead...

The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team is back on the road this week with three matches at Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents. Two of the Dragons' three opponents this week are ranked in the top five nationally in week seven polls.

The Dragons begin the week at No. 2 Northern State University on Tuesday night. Earlier in the season, the Dragons handed the Wolves their first two set losses of the season, however, the Wolves would go on to take the game, 3-2. Northern is undefeated on the season at 19-0, and is 11-0 in NSIC play. The Wolves have won 57 sets this year and lost only five, two of the losses were handed to them by MSUM. As a team, they have an attack percentage of .356 and are averaging 14.2 assists per set. Defensively, the Wolves have 15.9 digs per set and at the net they are averaging 1.5 blocks per set.

In the second match of the week, the Dragons will travel to Marshall, Minn., where they will face the No. 5 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University. The Mustangs are 16-3 overall and 9-2 in the conference. They are averaging 14.0 kills per set while only allowing opponents 10.7 kills per set. SMSU has 904 assists on the season and 151 total blocks. As a team, they have 15.3 digs per set and 106 aces on the season, 1.5 aces per set.

The third and final game of the week brings the Dragons to Sioux Falls where they will face the 10-10 Cougars who are 2-9 in the NSIC. The Cougars are averaging 12.7 kills per set and 11.7 assists per set. Defensively, they have 13.8 digs per set and have 168 total blocks on the season.

A Look Back at Last Week...

Last week the Dragons had home matches against Minnesota State Mankato and No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul.

The Dragons beat Minnesota State in three sets Friday night, 26-24, 25-22, and 25-22. All three sets were close, as the match featured 21 ties and 13 lead changes.

Sophomore hitter Carly Masloski had a match-high 14 kills and senior setter Casie Baer had 28 set assists 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.

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 before 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. 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.

On Saturday, the Dragons ran into the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in Concordia-St. Paul and fell in three sets, 25-19, 25-13, 25-19. Senior libero Amber Krenske had 17 digs to pace the Dragons, while senior setter Casie Baer had 25 assists. Senior hitter Abby Wolpern led with nine kills while sophomore hitter Carly Masloski had six and senior Kaitlin VanWinkle five. Wolpern led with three block assists.

MSUM hit just .099 for the match compared to .385 for the Golden Bears.

Superstar Setter
Senior setter Casie Baer reached a career milestone in dishing out over 2,000 set assists in her four years at Minnesota State University Moorhead. What's even more incredible about this feat is that three of her four years on the court, the Dragons ran a six-two rotation. This means that Baer split set assists with another setter and was still able to join the ranks that only eight other Dragons before her were able to achieve.

Tough Road
Once again, the Dragons have  faced a difficult schedule in 2015. They have faced two No. 1-ranked teams (Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth) and five teams ranked in the top 25 overall. MSUM is 1-4 against those foes, with the win coming against No. 8 Grand Valley State in early September at the Augustana Challenge.  The NSIC has five teams ranked in the top eight in the nation in the latest AVCA Division II Poll, including this week's opponents Northern State (No. 2) and Southwest Minnesota State (No. 4).

VanWinkle Moves Up
Senior middle blocker Kaitlin VanWinkle has moved into second all-time in career block assists with 353. She only trails Mary Sussenguth, who compiled 390 assisted blocks during her career. VanWinkle surpassed Laura Tvrdik last weekend to move into second. VanWinkle also has 1,108 career kills and trails seventh-place Shawnette VanderWolde by 71 heading into this week.

Krenske's Climb
Senior libero Amber Krenske is closing in on 1,500 career digs. She enters this week with 1,453 and in sixth-place all-time.  Once she reaches 1,500 digs, she will be just the fifth player in Dragon history to surpass that mark.VanWinkle also has 1,108 career kills and trails seventh-place Shawnette VanderWolde by 71 heading into this week.