MANKATO, Minn. – MSU Moorhead volleyball began the 2024 season on Friday at the Maverick Invitational with the Dragons dropping the opening two matches of the tournament.
MSUM fell in their the first match of the day to Northern Michigan, 3-0. To conclude day one, the Dragons took set one against Upper Iowa, but eventually fell in four sets, 3-1.
Wildcats 3, Dragons 0
Set Scores: 26-24, 25-21, 25-15
Northern Michigan would storm out of the gates in the early going, jumping out to a 7-1 lead to begin set one. A kill from sophomore
Emily Ramsay would stop a five-point Wildcat run. From there, the two teams would trade blows back and forth as
Abby Thompson and
Halle Erickson notched kills to bring the Dragons to within four points (12-8). Again, the teams would exchange punches midway through the set with Northern Michigan holding a slight score advantage. However, a kill from freshman
Brielle Riess pulled the Dragons to within two points (19-17).
The Wildcats would sit on set point, leading 24-20. Similar to what was seen last season, MSUM rallied late in the set, rattling off four straight points to tie the score. Thompson and Ramsay bolstered kills in the flurry while
Maci Martini added a service ace. Tied at 24, Northern Michigan would wrap the set with two swift points.
MSUM would score the first three points of the second set behind kills from Riess and Erickson and a service ace from the frosh. The Wildcats would eventually pull even at six points before a kill from
Annalise Wilson put the Dragons back in front. As the set reached the midway point, MSUM remained in front 15-14. It was at this time that Northern Michigan showcased a run of their own, scoring four straight points to take the lead. The Dragons would break the run, but Northern Michigan would go on another 4-0 run thereafter to lead 22-16. While MSUM would get to within three points late in the set (24-21), Northern Michigan capped another set win with a kill.
The Wildcats would use that momentum to take an early 10-7 lead in a deciding third set. Northern Michigan would down five straight thereafter to push their lead to 15-7. The Dragons would get as close as six points in the set behind kills from Ramsay, Erickson, Riess and
Raiah Mandell, but the Wildcat advantage proved to be too much. Northern Michigan would take the third set and the match behind a 25-15 result. The freshman Riess led MSUM on the attack with nine kills and a .217 hitting clip. In her first game back since October 28, 2022, Erickson nailed seven kills at a .263 success rate.
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Peacocks 3, Dragons 1
Set Scores:18-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-18
Both teams would start out relatively even in the early stages with the Peacocks building a narrow four-point lead (8-4). MSUM would then rally five straight points led by a pair of kills from Riess and a service ace from Olesch. Riess and Ramsay would strike again as part of a four-point swing to push the Dragons to a 13-9 advantage. MSUM would stretch that lead out six points later in the set thanks to kills from Erickson and Thompson. The Dragons owned the latter portion of the set as Thompson would cap a winning set with a kill.
Upper Iowa would race out to a 5-1 lead to begin the second set before MSUM began a stretch to pull it to within two points (8-6). From there, the Dragon corp of Ramsay, Wilson, Riess and freshman
Mya Pfeifer would tally five consecutive kills to give MSUM an 11-8 lead. The Peacocks responded with a run of their own to regain the lead, 13-11.
The Dragons would fall down by five points late in the set (20-15) and would later face set point trailing by three points (24-21). MSUM would showcase some resiliency as a pair of kills from Riess and another from Thompson knotted the count at 24. However, Upper Iowa would spoil the run with a swift two points to steal the set and even the match.
Upper Iowa would fall victim to three straight attack errors early in the third set which helped MSUM gather a 7-5 lead. The Peacocks would rally back to take a 16-12 lead midway through the frame. Upper Iowa's lead would hold at six points as the Dragons were in need of a run. However, the Peacocks would build a lead as large as eight points late in the set. Despite a late trio of kills from Thompson and Riess, Upper Iowa commanded the set with a 25-17 win.
The Peacocks would continue to control the scoreboard as a deciding fourth set commenced. Upper Iowa would jump up by an 8-4 count. The Dragons would come back to a tie the score at eight points as Ramsay dropped in back-to-back service aces. While Upper Iowa would build another small lead, MSUM quickly vanquished it as Riess turned in a kill and service ace. From there, Upper Iowa would go on a 6-1 run to lead 18-13. The Dragons would trim that lead to four points as the set neared an end (19-15).
However, the Peacocks would go on a three-point burst to help them lead 23-17. While Riess would tally her 15
th kill of the contest to trim the deficit to five points, Upper Iowa would finish the match with back-to-back kills.
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Up Next
MSUM (0-2) concludes competition at the Maverick Invitational tomorrow morning as they take on Truman State and Parkside with match times set for 8 a.m. and noon, respectively.
