SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team stretched its season-opening winning streak to six with a pair of wins Friday at the Augustana Volleyball Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Dragons opened play with a 25-14, 25-8, 25-19 win over Southwest Baptist and ended the day with a thrilling 22-25, 33-31, 25-21, 25-27, 16-14 win over No. 8-ranked Grand Valley State.
The Dragons are now 6-0 on the season.
In the win over Southwest Baptist, senior middle blocker
Kaitlin VanWinkle led the way with 11 kills while sophomore hitter
Carly Masloski had nine and senior right side hitter
Abby Wolpern had seven. Senior setter
Casie Baer dished out 30 assists while senior libero
Amber Krenske had 16 digs. Junior middle blocker
Kelsey Hartkopf led a strong Dragon defense at the net with one solo block and seven assists.
The Dragons hit a strong .319 for the match while holding Southwest Baptist to a .000 hitting percentage. MSUM also dominated at the net, recording three solo blocks and 18 assists compared to just four assisted blocks for Southwest Baptist.
MSUM faced a 9-5 deficit in the first set but stormed back with 12 consecutive points to take a 17-9 lead. Baer served 11 straight points, with two points coming from aces, while Masloski had two kills and two block assists.
Southwest Baptist closed the gap to 17-13 but the Dragons finished the set by scoring eight out of the last nine points to take a 25-14 win. Masloski finished the set with five kills.
The Dragons had little trouble in the second set, jumping out to a 12-2 lead and cruising from there to a 25-8 win. VanWinkle sparked the offense with six kills in the set while Krenske had two service aces.
The final set was close throughout the way before a late surge clinched a Dragon win. MSUM led 21-19 after a close battle for much of the way before scoring the final four points – two coming from kills from Masloski and another on a kill from VanWinkle – to secure a 25-19 win.
In the five-set win over Grand Valley, Baer had a career-high 62 set assists, while Masloski had 23 kills. VanWinkle had 19 kills while Wolpern and sophomore hitter
Claire Grimm collected 12 apiece. Redshirt freshman
Monica Vega had 22 digs while Krenske had 20. VanWinkle had three solo blocks and four assists.
All five sets were close, with the largest margin of victory being four for either team. The Dragons mounted a huge comeback in the final moments of the fifth set to take the win.
Trailing 14-11, a kill from VanWinkle kept the Dragons alive. Wolpern followed with an ace, and back-to-back errors by Grand Valley State gave the Dragons a 15-14 win. VanWinkle finished the comeback with a kill to give MSUM a dramatic 16-14 win.
After losing the first set 25-22, MSUM won a hard-fought 33-31 second set. The Dragons trailed 21-14 at one point but scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 24-23 lead. Hartkopf had three block assists during that stretch while Masloski, VanWinkle and Grimm each had kills. Despite the rally, MSUM faced a 25-24 deficit but staved off defeat in the set thanks to a Masloski kill. The set was tied six times after that before the Dragons broke through late to break a 31-31 tie. A Masloski kill gave MSUM the lead while Wolpern and Hartkopf teamed up for a block to secure a 33-31 win.
The Dragons carried that momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 13-9 lead. Grand Valley State cut the gap to 23-21, but a kill from Wolpern, followed by an error from Grand Valley State, clinched a 25-21 MSUM win.
Grand Valley State won the fourth set 27-25 to set up the decisive fifth set.
MSUM wraps up the weekend with two matches, starting at noon on Saturday against Northwest Missouri State. The Dragons will face Black Hills State at 6:30 p.m. to cap off the weekend.
