MOORHEAD, Minn. -- A ferocious and efficient attack helped guide MSU Moorhead to its second consecutive win on Tuesday evening.
Raiah Mandell led the way with 12 monster kills as the Dragons swept Bemidji State inside Nemzek Fieldhouse.
Fresh off a big win over Minnesota State last Saturday, MSUM would enter Tuesday's contest a little flat. Bemidji State would jump out to a 5-1 lead early in the first set behind a pair of Dragon attack errors. While MSUM would come to within two points (9-7) shortly after, the Beavers would race out on a 5-0 run to extend their advantage to seven points.
Halle Erickson,
Raiah Mandell,
Mya Pfeifer and
Brielle Riess would all register kills to pull back within three points. However, Bemidji State would continue to hold a four-point lead.
Leading 22-19, MSUM would begin to stir late in the set as Riess, Pfeifer and Mandell would stripe three straight kills to bring it within one point (22-21). The Beavers would break the scoring run, but it would not last long as Riess would drop in a service ace to tie the set at 23 points. From there, Pfeifer would collect a massive block solo to give MSUM its first lead of the contest. A Beaver attack error on the ensuing rally would clinch a momentum-shifting frame for the Dragons. Though MSUM trailed through most of the set, the Dragons hit for a .216 clip.
The first set would transition into the second set as the Dragons completely owned the early portions of the frame. MSUM would build an 11-6 lead behind a trio of kills from Mandell and
Emily Ramsay.
Annalise Wilson would nail a service ace in the early flurry as well for the Dragons. With that same lead,
Maci Martini would step behind the service line for the Dragons and would help MSUM to a 9-0 run.
Abby Thompson and Erickson would team up for a block assist in the stretch while Riess would score a pair of kills. Martini would also add a service ace as the Dragon burst pushed the score to 19-6 in favor of MSUM. Bemidji State would fall victim to a host of errors late in the set while Mandell turned in a floor-denting kill. The Dragons would coast to a 25-12 win in the frame behind a .259 hitting percentage.
MSUM's attack would just not quit as the third set commenced with Erickson tallying a kill while Riess slammed down a pair to give MSUM a 10-5 lead. From there, the Dragons would go on a 8-2 run that was sparked by Mandell. The sophomore had back-to-back-to-back kills in the tempest with all three absolutely flattening the ball. Mandell would strike again to put MSUM up 18-9. While Bemidji State would answer with three straight points, Thompson would put down a blazing kill to revive the MSUM attack. Ramsay placed a service ace before kills from Riess and another from Thompson continued to build Dragon momentum.
Amanda Lisi would sneak in a kill to put the Dragons at match point. Riess would flame a kill on an assist from Mandell to clinch the match for the Dragons.
The Dragons would hit for an incredible .483 clip in the third set as Riess and Wilson would finish with double-doubles for MSUM. Mandell had a career-high 12 kills for MSUM, including an eye-popping .375 hitting percentage.
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Up Next
MSUM (7-6, 2-3 NSIC) will now hit the road for matches against Winona State and 13th-ranked Concordia, St. Paul. The weekend begins with the Warriors in a 6 p.m. match in Winona, Minn.
