MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team (9-15, 4-12 NSIC) continues with Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play this week, returning home for the final time this season as they take on Sioux Falls (Nov. 4) and No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State (Nov. 5). The Dragons end their season with a two-game road trip to Wayne State and Augustana.
 
Home Sweet Home
After dropping a match 3-2 to Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday (Oct. 29), MSUM is back in Nemzek Fieldhouse for two NSIC matches this week against Sioux Falls and No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State. The Dragons face Sioux Falls (16-8, 10-6 NSIC) on Friday night at 7 p.m. for senior night, turning around Saturday at 4 p.m. for parent's day and another NSIC matchup against No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State (20-4, 14-2 NSIC).
 
Scouting the Opposition...
Sioux Falls
The Cougars (16-8, 10-6 NSIC) are riding a four-game win streak, with the most recent match resulting in a straight set sweep over St. Cloud State. Sioux Falls is currently tied for sixth place in the NSIC women's volleyball standings. OH Makenna Rockeman leads the Cougars offense, averaging 3.92 kills/set with a total of 341 kills. Defensively, MB Jordan Calef leads the team with 106 total blocks, and LIB Abby Folk leads the squad with 3.63 digs/set. Sioux Falls tied for 12th in the NSIC a season ago with a conference record of 5-15.
 
Southwest Minnesota State
The Mustangs (20-4, 14-2 NSIC) were on a 14-game win streak before losing in straight sets to then ranked No. 1 Minnesota Duluth 3-0 last weekend. Southwest Minnesota State is currently tied for 1st in the NSIC women's volleyball standings. Taylor Reiss leads the way offensively for the Mustangs, averaging 4.88 kills/set. Amber Messner and Sarah Parker have been defensive staples for SMSU. Messner averages 4.43 digs/set, while Parker has 82 total blocks. Last season, the Mustangs finished tied for 2nd in the NSIC with a 17-3 mark in conference play.
 
History Against Sioux Falls
MSUM has played Sioux Falls a total of 10 times with MSUM tied in the all-time series with Sioux Falls 5-5. The teams last met earlier this season, when MSUM fell  3-0. OH Carly Masloski had eight kills for the Dragons. Libero Monica Vega had 16 assists, while Makayla Wenzel had 27 set assists.
 
History Against Southwest Minnesota State
The Dragons have played Southwest Minnesota State a total of 107 times with MSUM trailing the all-time series 46-61. The teams last met early in the 2016 campaign, when MSUM lost in straight sets, 3-0. OH Tyann Caspers had a team-high eight kills for the Dragons. Setter Makayla Wenzel had 17 assists.
 
Makayla Managing the Offense
Redshirt-freshman setter Makayla Wenzel has started in all but one of the Dragons matches this season. Wenzel has amassed 859 set assists for an average of 9.65 assists/set. The redshirt-freshman also has 205 digs (2.30 digs/set) on the season to go along with 13 service aces.
 
Consistency is Key
OH, and captain, Carly Masloski set a career-high in kills with 27 against Upper Iowa two weeks ago. Masloski has double-digit kills in six of the last nine matches while averaging a .206 hitting percentage. She has hit for double-digit kills in 63 percent of the matches, while averaging 3.19 kills/set so far this season.
 
Tough Road Ahead
MSUM will face AVCA Top-25 teams in three of its final four games of the season. Those teams include No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 8 Wayne State and No. 7 Augustana.
 
Vega Keeps Digging
Sophomore libero Monica Vega has accumulated 497 digs through 24 total games this season. Vega is currently first in the NSIC, and 23rd nationally, in digs averaging 5.61 digs/set. She set a career-high in digs against Minnesota Crookston on Oct. 8 with 44. Vega is a two-time NSIC Defensive Player of the week selection this season.
 
Up Next
MSUM finished its season with a two-game road trip to No. 7 Wayne State and No. 8 Augustana on the weekend of Nov. 11-12.