MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead volleyball will be on the road this week as they take on week two of NSIC conference play. The Dragons head to play the Augustana Vikings on Friday in a 6 p.m. battle before battling fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday in a match that begins at 2 p.m.

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

The Dragons (5-4, 0-1 NSIC), only had one match last week and that was against the top ten, nationally-ranked Wayne State College Wildcats. They dropped the match in four sets 3-1. However, they showed some fight winning a set against the well-coached Wildcats. The Wildcats only had a slight advantage over the Dragons in kills (50-46), in assists (45-42) and in digs (68-64). The Dragons bested the Wildcats in the service ace category as well (6-5), with senior middle blocker Abby Thompson tallying two aces. Freshman outside hitter Brielle Riess had 15 kills in the match even though it wasn't her most efficient night.

Through the first nine games this season, the Dragons are knocking down 12.2 kills per set, only slightly behind their opponents mark of 12.6. The Dragons have less errors than their opponents (156-182), and as a result of that, they have a higher hitting percentage at .206 compared to their opponents' .186. MSUM also has been good on serves so far this season, tallying 1.8 service aces per set. Defensively, the Dragons are right on par with their opponents in the digs per set category (16.2) compared to (16.3) for their opponents. MSUM has been dominant in the blocks segment of the game, putting up great numbers with 72 blocks. Their opponents have only managed 48 blocks.

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

• Freshman outside hitter Brielle Riess – 82 kills, .205 hitting percentage, 17 service aces
• Sophomore outside hitter Emily Ramsay – 75 kills, nine service aces, 78 digs
• Senior middle blocker Abby Thompson – 33 blocks, 71 kills, .335 hitting percentage
• Senior outside hitter Halle Erickson – 63 kills, 23 blocks, 1.97 kills per set
• Sophomore middle blocker Raiah Mandell – 31 kills, 22 blocks
• Freshman middle blocker Mya Pfeifer – 25 blocks, 27 kills
• Sophomore libero Kiara Olesch – 145 digs, 4.53 digs per set, seven service aces

 
Scouting Augustana

The Vikings (6-5, 2-0 NSIC), had a very good start to conference play last week. Augie played three matches last week where they bested Mary and Minot State in straight sets in each match. Then, in arguably their more impressive performance of the week in non-conference action, the Vikings took fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State to the brink in a five set thriller, narrowly dropping the fifth set 16-14. Through their first eleven matches of the season, they have slightly better figures in the kills per set department (12.7) than the team on the other side of the net (12.5). Just like the Dragons, they also excel in the blocks department. They have tallied 108 blocks so far through eleven matches.

The Vikings have a very talented duo, similar to the Wildcats last week. Junior middle hitter Maya Wente is second on the team in blocks, tallying 40 rejections. She also comes in second on the team in kills with 125, while being very efficient hitting at a .389 clip. Sophomore outside hitter Reagan Jansen has been very impressive for the Vikings so far this season. She leads her team in kills with 129 at a .207 percent success rate. 

The Vikings are led by eighth-year head coach Jennifer Jacobs.
 
Scouting Southwest Minnesota State

The fourth-ranked Mustangs (11-0, 2-0 NSIC), come into this week unblemished. However, as was mentioned above they survived a scare from Augustana on Tuesday in a five set non-conference match. They also had two conference matches where they put away Minot State and Mary in straight sets, 3-0. They excel in most areas, almost eclipsing the 15 kills per set mark with a 14.9 ledger. They have 73 service aces (1.9 per set), 20.4 digs per set and 14.2 assists per set. However, one area where their opponents are better, even if only slightly, is blocks (79-80).

The Mustangs have three players already over the century mark in kills this season. Senior outside hitter Saari Kuehl (137), sophomore outside hitter Leah Jones (110), and senior middle blocker Emma VanHee (101) have all eclipsed that mark. 

The Mustangs are guided by third-year head coach Tyler Boddy.