MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead volleyball heads to Grand Junction, Colo., this week to take part in the Maverick Fall Classic, hosted by Colorado Mesa University. The Dragons will play four matches across Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The week starts with Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday at 6 p.m. MSUM will face off against two opponents on Friday, first against Cal Poly Humboldt at 1 p.m., then against 15th-ranked Colorado Mesa University at 8:30 p.m. The last match of the tournament will come against Adams State University at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Live video and stats will be available at msumdragons.com.
About the Dragons
The Dragons (2-2), are coming out of the opening weekend with two victories. They split a quartet of matches at the Maverick Invite with several impressive performances to open the season. They dropped two matches, one to a solid Northern Michigan team, and another to Upper Iowa. However, they bounced back with a 3-0 victory against Truman State, and another win against Parkside, 3-1.
As a team, MSUM played well, totaling 175 kills and 162 assists over the weekend tournament. The Dragons had a higher hitting percentage (.216), over the four matches compared to their opponents (.195). MSUM excelled in the digs per set department with 17.4 per set, which helped a very stout Dragons defense. Another defensive aspect of the game the Dragons dominated was blocks. They rejected their opponents' attacks 25 times over the tournament, which amounts to 1.8 blocks per set.
The Dragons are coached by
Kari Thompson in her second season.
Top Dragons
Scouting Cal State Dominguez Hills
The Toros (2-2), split their matches in the season opening tournament. Their two losses came in five sets, so they battled hard even in their tough matches. Their opponents tallied more kills, but CSDH finished ahead in the hitting percentage category. They hit .195 to their opponents' .148 percentage. They also dominated in the serving facet of the game. The Toros had 33 service aces in four matches, compared to 19 from the opponent. A player to watch for the Toros is senior opposite hitter Kayly Pau. She put up very solid numbers in the first action of 2024, with 40 kills, seven aces and 10 blocks last week. The Toros are coached by Teddi Esko in his first season.
Scouting Cal Poly Humboldt
The Lumberjacks (3-1), have had a quality first few matches of the season. They lost their first match of the season but have since rattled off three straight wins. They tallied 217 kills, which was good for 12.8 kills per set and was just a hair higher than the Dragons, who had 12.5 kills per set. Just like the Dragons, they were also solid defensively, racking up 231 digs (13.6 digs per set) and 31 blocks (1.8 blocks per set). The Lumberjacks best player so far this year has been senior outside hitter Awelina Fakalata. She has been awesome for Cal Poly Humboldt, adding up 73 kills, seven aces and 40 digs. The Lumberjacks are coached by Angela Spoja in her second season.
Scouting Colorado Mesa University
The 15th-ranked Mavericks (3-1), are a very well respected team nationally this season, and they will be a challenge for any team nationwide in 2024. They dropped a match to a very good Michigan Tech team, and won all the rest of their matches in the opening week. This included winning against one of the NSIC's top programs in Concordia, St Paul. The Mavericks do a lot of things well, but they have been great assisting teammates so far this season. The Mavericks assist on 14.2 attacks per set, and have 199 total assists this season to go along with their 214 kills. They are lower in the digs per set department than the Dragons, with only 11.9 digs per frame compared to MSUM's 17.4 digs per set mark. A player to watch for on the Mavericks is sophomore middle hitter Nicole Martin. She has double digit blocks already this season with 12, a mark that leads her team. The Mavericks are led by Dave Fleming, who has been leading the program since 2005.
Scouting Adams State University
The Grizzlies (1-3), are looking to bounce back after a less than stellar start to the 2024 season. Only one of their matches has gone more than three sets, so they have either won or gotten beaten by a significant amount in the first week of the season. They have accumulated a lot of kills, scoring 154 kills to their oppositions 135. However, this hasn't translated to wins because Adams State has committed an abundance of errors as well. They have 103 errors, which brings their hitting percentage down to .101 clip on the season so far. One of their better performers this season has been redshirt senior outside hitter Cindy Garcia. She has averaged 4.2 kills per set, for a total of 55 kills this season. She is also second on the team in blocks with nine total through four matches this season. The Grizzlies are led by first-year head coach Garcia Ramser.
