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Minot State Live Stats
Live Stats vs. U-Mary and Northern State
Live Stream vs. U-Mary
Live Stream vs. Northern State
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team is now 5-3, 0-0 NSIC after going 1-3 at the Quincy Invitational. This week the Dragons open up conference play at Minot State Thursday and will return home to take on U-Mary Saturday and wrap up the two game home stand with Northern State the following Tuesday.

Scouting the Opposition...
Minot State University
Minot State is now 3-5, 0-0 NSIC. The Beavers went 2-2 in the season opener tournament they hosted and finished 0-4 at the Northern State Classic. MSU's offence is led by Shelby Spuller who has a total of 121 kills, on a .194 hitting percentage. Setter Kelsey Dewulf averages 9.52 assists per set. Defensively, the Beavers are led by Karli Koza with 155 digs, averaging 5.17 digs per set and Emily Falldorf with 25 total blocks. The Dragons have already played the Beavers once this season at the Minot State Classic and won 3-1. MSUM leads the all-time series 11-1 against the Beavers.

University of Mary
U-Mary is 4-5 overall and 0-0 in the NSIC.  The Marauders split the Bulldog Bash Invite and went 1-3 at the Keweenaw Classic. Mary also defeated Valley City State in a nonconference match, 3-1.  The Marauders will open up conference play this week against Northern State. Lauren Randall leads U-Mary with 141 kills, averaging 5.22 per set, while Morgan Schnable has 61 kills.  As a team the Marauders are hitting .172 on the season. Junior setter Amanda Lopes has dished out 331 assists, averaging 9.19 per set. The back-row defense is led by Geovana Almeida with 117 digs, while Jody Heidel has 87. Rachell Vergas-Comme leads the team with 18 total blocks while Lopes has eight. The Dragons lead the Marauders 21-1 all-time. Last time the two teams face each other, U-Mary won, 3-1.

Northern State University
The Wolves are now 7-1, 0-0 NSIC with its only loss being 3-2 to California State-San Bernardino. Northern State was ranked 24th in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll. Hailey Busch leads the team in kills with 109, averaging 4.04 per set, while Holly Vancoura has 63 on a .270 hitting percentage. Setter Ashley Rozell has made 302 assists, averaging 11.19 per set, she also leads her team and the NSIC in service aces with 24. Jaiden Langlie leads the Wolves defense with 101 digs, while Jenna Rieff defends at the net with 27 total blocks. NSU leads the all-time series 47-24 against the Dragons, including it's 3-0 victory over MSUM the last time they met.

More about MSUM...
Vega Surpasses 1,000 Digs
Monica Vega needed 52 digs prior to the Quincy Invitational to reach 1,000 career digs. She surpassed the 1,000 mark and racked up a total 72 digs over the weekend putting her at 1,020 digs. Vega hit 1,000 digs in the Dragons' 3-1 loss to Northwest Missouri State. The junior libero is only 262 digs away from reaching 10th all-time.

Fantastic Freshman
With such a young roster this season, the freshmen on the team have really stepped up to the plate. Setter Ellie Hoyt has 261 assists, averaging 8.70 per set, and is second on the team in digs with 87. Lauren Kiewiet is third on the team in kills (44) and blocks (17) , second in assists with 32, and leads the team in service aces with 11. Kylie Kanwischer leads with 31 total blocks. Another standout freshman is Sarah Petrbok who has made 31 kills, seven service aces and 71 digs.

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.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Minnesota State University Moorhead announced its captains for the 2017 season. Junior libero/defensive specialist Monica Vega, sophomore middle blocker Sarah Hagler and senior outside hitter Tyann Caspers will be MSUM's captains.

Up Next
MSUM will travel to take on Upper Iowa University Sept. 22 at 6 p.m., and Winona State Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.