MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead Volleyball team won a five-set thriller on homecoming night against Bemidji State (5-12, 1-7 NSIC) in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match in Nemzek Fieldhouse on Friday night. The Dragons won 23-25, 25-14, 26-28, 25-19, and 17-15.

MSUM is now 7-9 overall with a 2-6 mark in the NSIC.

Junior captain hitter Carly Masloski had a big night for the Dragons putting down 18 kills, to go along with three digs and a block. Junior middle blocker Taylor Liesemeyer registered a MSUM career-high 17 kills tonight. Liesemeyer also had seven digs to go along with a MSUM career-high seven blocks.

Freshman hitter Courtney Selbitschka had a career-high 15 kills, 11 digs and four blocks. Redshirt-freshman hitter Sarah Hagler put down 13 kills, three digs and five blocks. Redshirt-freshman setter Makayla Wenzel had a huge night, racking up 62 assists, to go along with nine digs and a block.

Sophomore libero Monica Vega dug up a team-high 28 hits and had two service aces. Junior defensive specialist Sydney Foss had a season-high 26 blocks.

The first set defined the pace for the entire match. In a set that saw two ties and two lead changes, Bemidji State got the edge late in the set by scoring four of the final five points. Liesemeyer, Selbitschka, Masloski, and Hagler each had multiple kills in the first set loss 23-25.

The Dragons came out with a chip on their shoulder in the second set. Winning by a dominate score of 25-14, kills by Wenzel, redshirt-freshman hitter Ellie Rutten, Hagler, built up an early 8-2 lead. The Beavers of Bemidji State clawed their way back scoring six of the next eight points, putting the score at 10-8 in favor of the Dragons. A kill by Masloski put MSUM back on track, going on a 14-6 run to win the second set.

The third set was a back-and-forth affair from the first serve. In a set that saw seven ties and three lead changes, the Dragons fell short 26-28. The Dragons came out of the gates strongly building up a 17-12 lead. Bemidji State called a timeout, gathering themselves to pull off a 6-3 run. The Dragons had a few costly hitting errors at the end of the set to end it.

Needing a win in the fourth set to push the match to a fifth-set the Dragons hit .289 as a team putting down 16 kills in route to a 25-19 win. The set went back-and-forth until the dragons built a sizeable lead thanks to multiple kills from Masloski, Selbitschka and Liesemeyer.

The fifth set saw six ties in its entirety. MSUM found itself down a quick 2-1, before two attack errors by Bemidji State saw the lead go in the Dragons favor 3-2. Kills by Rutten and Liesemeyer helped MSUM build up a 7-5 lead. MSUM managed to hold a two-point lead up until 12-10. Up 16-15, Hagler put down the final kill to win 17-15.

MSUM continues its home stand on Saturday, Oct. 8 when it hosts Minnesota Crookston at 3 p.m.