Volleyball | 11/9/2017 3:03:00 PM

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MOORHEAD, Minn -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team is now 9-17, 4-14 NSIC. The Dragons fell to both Minnesota State-Mankato (3-0) and No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul (3-0) last week. This weekend MSUM returns home to host Winona State, Friday at 6 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday at 4 p.m. in its regular season finale.

Scouting the Opposition...
No. 15 Winona State University
Winona State is 19-7 overall and 13-5 in the NSIC. The Warriors went 2-0 last weekend sweeping both Minot State and U-Mary, 3-0. Danielle Rampart leads the team in kills with 349, averaging 3.71 per set. Maria Wrage has made 246 kills, while Jordan Runge has 194. As a team WSU is hitting .263 this season compared to its opponents at .185.  McKenna Larsen has 443 set assists, averaging 10.48 assists per set. Larsen also leads the Warriors in service aces this season with a total of 31. Becca Pagel is first on the team and forth best in the NSIC in digs with 484, averaging 5.15 digs per set. Rampart has a total of 294 digs this season, while Larsen has 289. Wrage and Lauren Kudronowicz have the most blocks with 56 and 54, respectively. When MSUM and WSU met earlier this season, the Warriors came out on top with a 3-0 win. However, the Dragons lead the all-time series 62-33.

RV- Upper Iowa University
Upper Iowa is 20-7, 11-7 NSIC on the season. The Peacocks also swept both Minot State and U-Mary last week, 3-0. UIU as a team is hitting .217 on the season, while it's opponent are hitting .163. Anna Winter heads the offense with 317 kills, averaging 3.23 kills per set. Haley Weepie has made 257 kills and Haley Poula has made 218. Setter Melissa LeClaire has dished out 930 assists, with an average of 9.49 assists per set. LeClaire also has the most service aces on the team with 43. Ashley Larson leads the back row defense with 487 digs, while Weepie has 325 digs, and LeClaire has 322. Bethany Lovhaug leads the Peacocks and the NSIC in blocks with a total of 130 blocks, averaging 1.33 blocks per set. Poula has 71 blocks for UIU and Lauren Wombles has 53. When the Peacocks and the Dragons met earlier this season, UIU won, 3-0. MSUM tops the Peacocks all-time, 14-6.

More about MSUM...
Vega Keeps Digging
Junior libero Monica Vega added 19 more digs this past weekend. Vega is ranked sixth in the NSIC with 462 digs, averaging 4.97 digs per set. The Ada, Minn. native is now MSUM's 9th all-time leader in digs with a total of 1,318 so far in her career.

Superior Net Defense
For the third straight week the Dragons lead the conference in blocks with a team total of 221.5, averaging 2.36 blocks per set. Freshman Kylie Kanwischer has been consistently strong this season for the Dragons when it comes to blocking. Kanwischer is ranked second in the NSIC with 1.12 blocks per set. Kaylyn Jenkins has also made her way into the rankings at sixth in the conference with 1.06 blocks per set. MSUM's blocking as a team is ranked 20th in the nation.

Sophomores and Freshman Step Up
With such a young roster this year, the freshman and sophomores of the team have stepped up to the challenge. Sophomores Kaylyn Jenkins and Courtney Selbitschka have consistently led the Dragons offense this season. Freshmen Lauren Kiewiet and Sarah Petrbok were both solid in multiple categories. Freshman Ellie Hoyt lead the Dragons in assists and service aces. Freshman Kylie Kanwisher has dominated in net defense, leading MSUM in blocks as well as remaining in the top five in the NSIC for a majority of the season in blocks.

Dragons to Face Tough Slate This Season
MSUM's 28-game 2017 schedule features seven matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top-25, five of which are in the top-10. The Dragons play No. 1 Concordia - St. Paul, No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 5 Winona State, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth, No. 10 Augustana, No. 13 Winona State and No. 24 Northern State.

Blake Braces for 23rd Season
Head coach Tammy Blake enters her 23rd season as head coach of the Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball program. Since taking over in Moorhead, Blake has lead MSUM to three NSIC championships and three NCAA appearances. Bob Jones and Madison Halterman are both in their second season as assistant coaches.

Season Finale
This weekends matches vs. Winona State and Upper Iowa will conclude the regular season for Dragon volleyball.