GOLDEN, Colo. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team capped off a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Oredigger Classic by recording two dominating sweeps on Saturday. The Dragons swept Midwestern State (Texas), 25-19, 25-19, 25-8 and ended the event with a 25-19, 25-13, 25-23 sweep of Western Oregon.
It is the Dragons' first 4-0 start since the 2013 season when they started 7-0.
MSUM (4-0) made very quick work of Midwestern State, recording the sweep in an hour. Senior middle blocker
Kaitlin VanWinkle had 16 kills while sophomore hitter
Carly Masloski had seven. Senior setter
Casie Baer had 29 set assists while senior libero
Amber Krenske had 11 digs. VanWinkle added five block assists and one solo block. Junior
Kelsey Hartkopf had five block assists while junior defensive specialist
Katie Meyers had three service aces.
Holding a 14-13 lead in the first set, MSUM took control with six straight points to build a 20-13 lead. Sophomore hitter
Claire Grimm and VanWinkle each had a kill and block assist during that run while Krenske had a service ace. The Dragons were never threatened the rest of the way in a 25-19 win.
The second set followed a similar pattern as MSUM held a 14-12 lead. The Dragons then scored six of the next seven points to stretch the lead to 20-13. VanWinkle had a kill and two block assists during that run while Baer had a kill. That run gave MSUM control on its way to a 25-19 win.
The Dragons dominated the third set. They led 7-5 and went on a 12-0 run to build a commanding 19-5 lead. Meyers sparked the run from the service line while VanWinkle had two kills and two block assists.
VanWinkle and Masloski paced the Dragons with 12 kills each while senior hitter
Abby Wolpern had 10 kills and Grimm added nine. Baer had 42 set assists to cap off a strong weekend while Krenske led with 13 digs. VanWinkle had two solo blocks and three block assists.
The first set was close at 18-17 before MSUM took control. Kills by Hartkopf and Masloski, along with three Western Oregon errors, pushed the Dragon lead to 23-18, and MSUM cruised to a 25-19 win from there.
MSUM faced a 7-6 deficit in the second set but scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a 17-9 lead. Meyers once again was the catalyst from the service line for MSUM, serving five straight points, while VanWinkle and Masloski had two kills each. The Dragons were never challenged the rest of the set in a 25-13 win.
The third set was close the entire way and was tied at 22-22 before the Dragons scored back-to-back points – on kills from Hartkopf and Masloski – to take a 24-22 lead. Western Oregon cut the lead to 24-23 but a Wolpern kill finished the sweep for the Dragons.
The all-tournament team will be announced later tonight.
MSUM is off until Sept. 11 and 12 when it competes at the Augustana Challenge in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Dragons will face four more Division II nonconference foes at the event.
