MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead volleyball used a strong fourth set to claim an NSIC victory on Tuesday evening. The Dragons bested Minnesota Crookston in four sets.
Moorhead would come out sharp after Minnesota Crookston built a three-point advantage to begin the frame. MSUM would hit on a 7-0 run with six of those points coming with
Emily McPhee behind the service line.
Jocelin Feutz collected a pair of kills as well as a block assist alongside
Leah Laqua to put the Dragons up 10-6.
Raiah Mandell would own the middle portions of the first set, scoring on three straight rallies with a pair of kills and a block solo. The Dragons defense would continue to shine as the set reached a conclusion as
Mya Pfeifer got in on the fun with a block solo of her own. Leading 21-18, MSUM would score three straight to reach set point, leading 24-18.
Brielle Riess would score a kill to clinch the set for Moorhead, 25-19.
The Golden Eagles would again build a lead to start the second stanza before the Dragons fired off another long run of points. This time, MSUM scored on six straight rallies led by back-to-back kills from
Maci Martini. The latter kill was assisted by senior
Amanda Lisi, who notched her 2,000th career assist (between Lincoln Memorial and MSUM) in the process. The stretch helped provide a cushion for Moorhead, who would go on to lead 17-14 after another kill from Mandell. Minnesota Crookston would keep the set within three points before MSUM made another run. The Dragons scored on six straight possessions, paced by a pair of kills from Feutz. The senior would stamp home another kill not long after to put the Dragons up 2-0 for the match. Feutz finished the game with 13 kills and four total blocks.
In the third set, both teams would trade punches back and forth throughout with Minnesota Crookston needing a set victory. Moorhead would grab a two-point lead late in the frame (21-19) before the Golden Eagles responded to tie the match again. Minnesota Crookston would get to set point before the Dragons forced the score beyond the 25-point threshold. However, Minnesota Crookston would score on back-to-back rallies to win the frame, 26-24.
Moorhead came out with an impressive sense of determination in the fourth set as they would build an 8-1 advantage to open the stanza. The Dragons fed the ball to Mandell, who opened the set with three straight kills. Martini would add three points of her own in the run to give the Dragons a comfortable lead. The tandem of Feutz and Laqua would score three kills and a block assist shortly thereafter to push MSUM's lead into double digits (13-3). Minnesota Crookston would bring the score to within seven points (18-11) before the Dragons put the finishing touches on the match. Moorhead scored on five straight possessions to lead 23-11 with service aces from Lisi pacing the run. Lisi would add the exclamation point, ending the match on a crafty set dump, giving MSUM a 25-13 set win. Lisi tallied a Dragon career high 31 assists in the victory while Martini (14 kills, 20 digs) and Riess (13 kills, 12 digs) logged double-doubles.
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Up Next
MSUM (8-3, 2-1 NSIC) hits the road for weekend matches against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. Action begins against the nationally-ranked Mustangs on Friday at 6 p.m.
