The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team wrapped up play at the Augustana Tournament on Saturday by defeating Black Hills State University in four sets. The scores were 28-26, 26-28, 25-19, 25-13.
The Dragons are now 4-3 on the season as they concluded nonconference action.
Junior
Kaylyn Jenkins led the Dragons with 14 kills and had a .542 hitting percentage, followed closely by sophomore
Kylie Kanwischer and freshman
Amanda Carlson who each added 13 to a balanced offense. Kiewiet and
Katelyn Selensky quarterbacked the offense with 24 and 22 assists, respectively. Senior libero
Monica Vega had 21 digs on the day. Kanwischer led the Dragons at the net with six blocks.
In the first set, MSUM jumped out to an early 8-4 lead thanks to kills by Kanwischer, Selenky, and Carlson. Black Hills State came back to tie the game 15-15 and the set would feature four lead changes and three Black Hills State set points before MSUM took a set one victory 28-26. Carlson provided two kills late in the set while Kiewiet and Kanswischer each had one—Kanswisher's swing set up set point for the Dragons.
Set two finished in similar fashion to the first set but featured Black Hills State coming out on top with a 28-26 win. Back-and-forth action early in the set brought the score to 7-7 as MSUM rallied off three points in a row capped off by a Carlson ace. Facing set point, Jenkins put up a block to tie the game 24-24. Black Hills State continued to pressure the Dragon offense and closed out the set with a three-point scoring run.
The Dragons bounced back in Set 3 and pulled ahead 12-11 after trailing early. The Dragons added the lead thanks to kills by Kanwischer and Carlson and went up 20-14. Black Hills State would not be deterred and fought back before a Jenkins kill gave the Dragons the set three victory 25-19.
In the fourth set the Dragons jumped out to a 6-0 lead. A seven-point scoring run highlighted by two kills and a block from Kanwischer and a set point ace from Jenkins gave the Dragons a commanding 25-13 victory.
The Dragons open conference play when they host Minot State on Sept. 6 in Nemzek Fieldhouse. The Dragons faced off against the Beavers to open the 2018 nonconfernce season and came out on top 3-2.
