Volleyball | 9/19/2018 2:17:00 PM
Game notes (pdf)
The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's volleyball team is 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Dragons dropped a 3-0 match to #2 Northern State but bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota Crookston and a 3-2 thriller over Bemidji State. This weekend MSUM will travel to take on Minnesota Duluth Friday at 6 p.n. and St. Cloud State Saturday at 2 p.m.
Scouting the Opposition...
University of Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota Duluth is 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the NSIC. The Bulldogs went 2-1 last week after falling 3-0 to St. Cloud State and sweeping both Minot State and U-Mary is straight-sets. Makenzie Morgan leads the team with 129 kills (3.31 k/s). Hanna Meyer and Sarah Kelly follow closely with 107 and 103 kills, respectively. Kelly is hitting at a .337 clip to lead the team. Emily Torve has setting duties and averages 11.60 assists per set for a team that hits .236 compared to its opponents at .126 (second in the NSIC). Abby Thor has 41 total blocks to lead the team, followed by Ley Langenfeld's 25 blocks. As a team, the Bulldogs rank third in the NSIC in blocks per set (2.12). The Bulldogs are out-digging their opponents with 14.81 digs per set compared to 11.19 by their opposition. Keena Sieffert leads the team with 3.98 digs per set, while four players average over two digs per set. In their last meeting, the Dragons pulled off a 3-2 victory over the fourth-ranked Bulldogs.
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State is 9-2 overall and 5-0 in the NSIC. The Huskies went 3-0 last week with wins over Minnesota Duluth (3-0), U-Mary (3-0), and Minot State (3-1). In the win over No. 6 UMD, the Huskies had four players tally double-digit digs as they held teh Bulldogs to a season-low hitting percentage of .123. SCSU is outhitting their opponents .231 to .156. Linsey Rachel leads the team in kills (147), kills per set (3.77), and hitting percentage (.310). Rachel is the reigning NSIC Offensive Player of the Week after posting career numbers in several categories over the week. Maddy Torve leads the team with10.08 assists per set. Clara Krenz has 4.74 digs per set to rank fourth in the NSIC. Marah Mulso leads the team with 31 blocks, while Micah Nier and Krista Kuglin each have 15. In their last meeting on Oct. 28, 2017 the Dragons lost 3-1.
Starting Strong
In the 3-2 win over Bemidji State, the Dragons matched their NSIC win total from the 2017 season. At 4-1 NSIC, the Dragons still have 15 regular-season matches to go and will look to keep the winning trend going. The Dragons currently find themselves in a three-way tie with Minnesota Duluth and SMSU for fourth place in the conference.
Superior Defense
The combination of defense at the net and incredible saves in the back row has proved to be vital at this point in the season. MSUM is holding the opposition to a .135 hitting percentage which ranks third in the NSIC. The Dragons are out blocking opponents 2.04 to 1.62 and sit at fifth in the NSIC. The Dragons have 765 digs this season (17.00 d/s) to rank fourth in the conference.
Speaking of Defense
Sophomore middle blocker
Kylie Kanwischer and junior middle blocker
Kaylyn Jenkins have been mainstays in the conference ranks this season. Kanwischer currently sits at sixth with 1.04 blocks per set and has 47 total blocks. Jenkins finds herself at 11th in the conference with .93 blocks per set and has 42 total blocks. Looking at conference-only statistics, Kanwischer sits at second in blocks per set with 1.22 and Jenkins is seventh with 1.00. Senior libero
Monica Vega has not made it easy for her opponents to score as she sits second in the NSIC with 4.91 digs per set and 5.11 digs per set in conference games. Vega now sits fifth all-time in career digs with 1,567.
Up Next
The Dragons return home to take on Minnesota State University-Mankato Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. and Concordia-St. Paul Sept. 29 at 2 p.m.
