MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead volleyball would only need three sets to handle Minnesota Crookston in NSIC play on Saturday afternoon. Freshman
Maci Martini showcased her talent for the Dragons in the win.
MSUM would open up a 10-4 lead in the first set thanks to kills from
Abby Thompson and
Raiah Mandell. Another kill from Mandell and two from
Tori Thompson would give the Dragons a six-point advantage (17-11) in the race to 25. Minnesota Crookston would trim that lead to three points late in the set (23-20) before a kill from Mandell and a Golden Eagle error gave MSUM a 25-20 set win.
The second set would see the Dragons jump out in front 11-1 as
Bridget Witzmann would help the Dragons serve up the big lead. Witzmann had a kill and two service aces in the stretch while freshman
Maci Martini would notch a kill along with Mandell. MSUM would stretch that lead to 16-2 at one point thanks to another kill from Martini and a service ace from
Emily Ramsay. Minnesota Crookston would come as close as 10 points in the set, but the lead proved to be too much for the Golden Eagles. Martini closed the set with a monster kill for the Dragons, who won the set 25-13.
For the second consecutive set, MSUM would once again build an early 14-point lead thanks to the play of Martini. The freshman had three straight kills to help give MSUM the first seven points of the set. Martini would add another two kills along with two kills from
Jadyn Feist in that 16-2 run to open the set. The Golden Eagles would pull the set to within five points (20-15) as the Dragons struggled to put the game away. MSUM would finish off the match with a 5-2 run with kills from Ramsay and a pair from
Tori Thompson.
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Up Next
MSUM (4-6, 1-1 NSIC) is back on the floor next weekend for a pair of road matchups with St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. The stretch begins with the Huskies at 6 p.m. on Friday
