MOORHEAD, Minn. — Senior Kaitlin VanWinkle led with 14 kills and four block assists to lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team to a 22-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-21 win over Minnesota Crookston in Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference action Friday night in Moorhead, Minn. MSUM honored five individuals as part of Senior Night prior to the match.

MSUM improved to 14-11 overall and 7-10 in the NSIC with the win while UMC fell to 7-18 overall and 3-14 in the league.

All five Dragon seniors played a role in the win. VanWinkle also hit .370 for the match and had nine digs.  Middle blocker Kelsey Hartkopf had 11 kills and three block assists, while setter Casie Baer had 48 assists. Senior libero Amber Krenske had 27 digs while Baer had 11. Senior hitter Abby Wolpern had eight kills, nine digs and two block assists for MSUM.

Sophomore outside hitter Carly Masloski had 13 kills for MSUM, which hit .217 for the match. UMC hit just .120, led by Maggie Perrel with 11 kills.

After falling in the first set 25-22, MSUM's hitting attack warmed up in the second.  The first set was tied at 2-2 before MSUM rattled off three points in a row — one coming from a kill from Wolpern and another on a block by Baer and VanWinkle — to built a 5-2 lead.  The Dragons steadily added to the lead and were up 18-12 before taking firm control. They scored seven of the next eight points to secure a 25-13 win. Hartkopf had two kills and a block assist during that run to spark MSUM.

The Dragons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third set — with Hartkopf contributing a kill — and led the rest of the way, including by as many as seven points.  UMC fought back and was within 24-22, but a Golden Eagle attack error gave the Dragons the set point in a 25-22 win.

The fourth set was tied at 3-3 before MSUM went on a 4-0 run — which included two kills from sophomore hitter Claire Grimm — to take a 7-3 lead. The Dragons maintained the lead for the rest of the set but UMC cut the advantage to 23-21 late.  Back-to-back kills from Masloski and Wolpern helped MSUM take a 25-21 win.

Grimm added six kills for MSUM.

MSUM's 2015 home finale is Saturday against Bemidji State. Match time is 4 p.m. at Nemzek Fieldhouse.