MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead volleyball will host a pair of matches this week against two conference foes. First up will be the Mavericks of Minnesota State in a Saturday showdown at 2 p.m. Then the Dragons will take on the Beavers of Bemidji State in a match set for Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Live stats and video are available at msumdragons.com.
 
Dragons At A Glance

The Dragons (5-6, 0-3 NSIC), came up short last weekend against Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State. MSUM competed with Augustana in a five-set battle, but couldn't quite close it out. Augustana had just two more kills than the Dragons (61-59), and the Dragons had more blocks than the Vikings (8-7). The Dragons also had more digs than the Vikings (80-75). Freshman outside hitter Brielle Riess had a good match for the Dragons, knocking down a team-leading 14 kills and she added seven digs as well. In their matchup with Southwest Minnesota State, the Dragons had a decent hitting percentage in the match (.231), but the Mustangs were better (.393). Freshman middle blocker Mya Pfeifer had herself a game, she tallied eight kills in 13 attempts for a great .538 hitting percentage. 

Through the first 11 games this season, MSUM has 490 kills to their opponents' 520 kills. The Dragons do have a better hitting percentage than their opponents, .203 compared to .199. In the assist category, MSUM has 11.5 assists per set compared to 12.4 assists per set for their opponents. The blocks category has been one of MSUM's strengths, managing to reject their opponents' attacks 84 times. Their opponents have only managed 59 blocks against the Dragons.

The Dragons are led by second-year head coach Kari Thompson.
 
Top Dragons

• Freshman outside hitter Brielle Riess – 118 kills, .173 hitting percentage, 20 service aces
• Sophomore outside hitter Emily Ramsay – 98 kills, 11 service aces, 94 digs
• Senior middle blocker Abby Thompson – 36 blocks, 90 kills, .335 hitting percentage
• Senior outside hitter Halle Erickson – 75 kills, 26 blocks, 1.88 kills per set
• Sophomore middle blocker Raiah Mandell – 42 kills, 24 blocks
• Freshman middle blocker Mya Pfeifer – 32 blocks, 44 kills
• Sophomore libero Kiara Olesch – 185 digs, 4.63 digs per set, 10 service aces

 
Scouting Minnesota State University Mankato

The Mavericks (10-1, 2-1 NSIC), have only one blemish on their record so far this season. Their last two matchups saw them take a victory in straight sets in each match. They bested Minnesota Crookston 3-0, and then swept Winona State 3-0 as well. In their first 11 matches of the year the Mavericks have had the better of their opponents in kills per set (12.7-10.5), digs (643-619), and blocks (105-54). The Mavericks have also been very efficient on the attack, only making 166 errors to their opponents' 246 errors. This leads to a much better hitting percentage (.234) compared to the opponents managing only .110. 

A player to watch on the Mavericks is junior middle blocker Emily Kern. She leads her team in blocks with 44, and she is effective on the offensive side as well tallying 70 kills and a .327 hitting percentage.

The Mavericks are le by fourth-year head coach Corey Phelps.
 
Scouting Bemidji State

The Beavers (5-5, 0-2 NSIC), haven't had an ideal start to conference play. They dropped a match to Minnesota Duluth in five sets, then were swept in three sets against St. Cloud State. The Beavers have 11.0 kills per set, 9.6 assists per set and 1.9 blocks per set. Their opponents best them in every category except for blocks per set.

The Dragons will need to look out for the senior outside hitter Ashley Crowl. She leads her team in kills amassing 121 so far this season. She isn't the most efficient at a .105 hitting percentage, but she is still a very dangerous player.

The Beavers head coach Kevin Ulmer passed away this fall after a three-year long battle with cancer. MSUM sends their thoughts and prayers to the Ulmer family and the whole Beaver volleyball team. Fans can donate to the Ulmer family GoFundMe here.