MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead volleyball team won the first set, but Sioux Falls came back to win the next three in a 26-28, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19 win over the Dragons in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Saturday at Nemzek Fieldhouse.

MSUM finished the five-match homestand with a 1-4 mark.

The Dragons didn't have an answer for Avery Yaksich, who had 20 kills and hit .341 for the match. 

Junior outside hitter Amanda Carlson had 17 kills while junior outside hitter Bridget Witzmann had eight and junior middle blocker Elise Bakke had seven. Freshman setter Kelly Klees had 34 assists, a career-high, while junior defensive specialist Morgan Cleveland had two service aces.

Klees had 12 digs to lead the team while senior libero Sarah Petrbok had eight. Bakke had two solo blocks and two assists.

MSUM hit .142 for the match compared to for .310 for Sioux Falls.

MSUM was down 24-23 in the first set but back-to-back kills from Bakke and Carlson made it 25-24 in favor of the Dragons. USF scored the next two points to regain the lead at 26-25, but the Dragons  scored the final three points — with the final two points coming from Carlson on a kill and service aces — to give the Dragons a 28-26 win.

The Dragons fell behind in the second and third sets and never recovered, losing both. MSUM stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set as freshman middle blocker Abby Thompson served three straight aces. She led the Dragons in that category. 

USF came back to take the lead at 9-8, but the Dragons scored four in a row to make it 12-9. Thompson had a kill and a block during that run.

The Dragons held an 18-17 lead but the Cougars took control by scoring seven in a row to take a 24-18 lead, on their way to a 25-19 win.

MSUM will play its next four matches on the road, starting on Oct. 8 at Augustana.