MINOT, N.D. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team opened conference play with a 25-20, 25-15, 26-24 sweep of Minot State in action Thursday night in Minot, N.D.

With the win, the Dragons are now 8-1 on the season, and 1-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  Minot State fell to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC.

Sophomore outside hitter Carly Masloski led the Dragons with 10 kills, while senior hitter Abby Wolpern added nine more. Senior middle blocker Kaitlin VanWinkle tallied seven kills and six blocks while sophomore outside hitter Claire Grimm had seven kills and three block assists. Senior setter Casie Baer dished out 30 assists and 12 digs, and senior libero Amber Krenske had 14 digs. As a team, MSUM had seven service aces.

In the first set, the Dragons and the Beavers traded points before the Beavers went on a six-point rally capitalizing on a couple of Dragon errors giving to take a 13-7 advantage. The Dragons then went on a run of their own, tying the score at 15. VanWinkle and Wolpern each had a kills during that run. Masloski put the set away on a kill, to give MSUM a 25-20 win.

The second set was dominated early by the Dragons as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead on a kill from Wolpern. From there, the Dragons held onto a lead of at least three points the rest of the set, the largest margin being 10. MSUM brought the score to 21-13 on three consecutive kills by Krenske, VanWinkle, and Grimm. VanWinkle and Grimm each had two assisted blocks and the Dragons took the set 25-15.     

The third and final set was a back-and-forth thriller as neither team held a lead of more than four points at any point during the set. There were six ties and three lead changes. The Beavers led the majority of the first part of the set before a block by VanWinkle and Baer tied the set at 12. The two teams traded points before a kill from Wolpern brought the Dragons within one at 24-23. An error by the Beavers tied the game at 24, before Grimm and VanWinkle teamed up for another block giving the Dragons the lead at 25-24, setting up match point. VanWinkle put the set away with her seventh kill of the night and gave the Dragons the sweep over the Beavers.

The Dragons will face the University of Mary on Saturday for their home opener at Alex Nemzek Hall. The match will be played at 4 p.m.