MOORHEAD, Minn. -- A career high 26 kills from
Bridget Witzmann and a resilient effort from MSU Moorhead volleyball were not enough to overcome a tough Northern State squad. The Dragons fell to the Wolves in four sets at home on Tuesday evening.
MSUM would command the opening frame, jumping in front 8-6 thanks to kills from
Bridget Witzmann and a pair from
Tori Thompson. The Dragons would not relinquish the lead in the set until Northern State pulled in front 21-20 on an MSUM attack error. From there, MSUM would score four straight points thanks to back-to-back kills and a service ace from Witzmann. While the Wolves would pull it to within one point, 24-23, a kill from
Jadyn Feist gave the Dragons an early advantage in the match. Witzmann had eight kills on 12 attacks in the first set.
The two teams would go back and forth for a majoriy of the second set with neither team able to establish a sizable lead. A 4-0 run late in the set gave the Wolves one of their largest lead of the frame, 19-16. MSUM would rally back in the set to tie at 22 points a piece. Northern State would close down the set with three consecutive points, winning set two 25-22.
Northern State would only continue to assert themselves in the third set as they utilized a 6-0 run to take a commanding 11-5 advantage. The Dragons would get the set as close as five points before the Wolves pushed that advantage to 22-12 late in the set. Although MSUM had only final rally in them, going on a 3-0 run which included a kill from Witzmann and a pair from
Abby Thompson, the Northern State lead proved too much. The Wolves took set three 25-17.
In the decisive fourth set, MSUM would jump in front thanks to 5-0 run from the jump. Witzmann had a pair of kills in the series, which forced a Northern State timeout. MSUM would retain that lead into the middle portion of the set with their lead trimmed to two points. From there, the squads would trade points as the Dragons still led 19-18. The Wolves would then turn on the attack, scoring four straight points to take a 22-19 lead. Out of a timeout, MSUM would go on another run of their own, scoring four straight thanks to two kills from Witzmann. Leading 24-23 following another Witzmann kill, Northern State would close out the match on a 3-0 run to take the final set 26-24.
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Up Next
MSUM (5-12, 2-7 NSIC) will now travel for a pair of neutral site matches against Minot State (non-NSIC) and Mary in Aberdeen, S.D. on Friday and Saturday. Action begins against the Beavers at 5 p.m. on Friday from Wachs Arena.
