MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead volleyball will look to create a late-season win streak in NSIC action this weekend. The Dragons are set to travel for matches with UMary on Friday at 6 p.m. and Minot State on Saturday at noon. 

Live video and stats will be available at msumdragons.com. Moorhead is coming off a ranked win in their previous match, besting 19th-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Tuesday evening. 

Matchup History...The Dragons claimed both matchups with the Marauders and Beavers earlier this season. On September 19, MSUM was led by 10 kills from Maci Martini in a three set win. A day prior, Moorhead would sweep the Beavers thanks to 11 kills from Brielle Riess. The Dragons have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Marauders dating back to the 2018 season. Since 2009, Moorhead is 18-3 against the University of Mary. MSUM will look to make it 10 straight wins over the Beavers dating back to the 2021 season. Minot State has only defeated Moorhead twice since 2012, most recently on November 2, 2019. 

Forward Momentum...Moorhead picked up a resounding road victory on Tuesday night against the nationally-ranked Bulldogs. The victory is MSUM's first over a ranked opponent since October 27, 2017. Coincidentally, that match was also a five-set thriller with the Bulldogs. Mya Pfeifer led the Dragons with 12 kills, hitting .391, while adding five blocks for a team-high 15 points. Raiah Mandell chipped in 11 kills, and Brielle Riess added 10 as three Dragons reached double figures in kills.

Martini Getting Closer...Senior outside hitter Maci Martini is nearing the 1,000 dig plateau, entering the weekend bolstering 974 for her career. So far this season, Martini has nine double-double showings and 15 matches with 10 or more digs. The Pequot Lakes, Minn., native tallied a double-double of 11 kills and 16 digs against Augustana on Saturday. In her career, Martini has 17 double-double performances. Martini leads the Dragons with 303 digs this season. 

Mandell Eclipses 800...Senior outside hitter Raiah Mandell eclipsed the 800 kill plateau in MSUM's homestand last weekend. Mandell entered the weekend with 787 career kills, stamping 11 kills against second-ranked Wayne State on Friday. The Mounds View, Minn., native went over the 800 mark on Saturday against Augustana, where she finished with 10 spikes. So far this season, Mandell leads the team with 259 kills to go along with a career-high .288 hit percentage. 

Colby Piling Them Up..Senior setter Madi Colby amassed 1,000 career assists during MSUM's non-conference surge. Colby enters this weekend having dished out 1,312 career assists in her MSUM career, including a team-high 480 in 2026. Currently, Colby sits in 10th place all-time in program history for assists, needing 10 assists to move into ninth all-time (Heather Smith). Colby registered a new career-high of 36 assists against Bemidji State on September 26. 

Kari Thompson is in her fourth season as MSUM's head volleyball coach. 

Opponent Scout

UMary
2026 Record: 4-20 (2-14 NSIC)
2025 Record: 6-22 (3-17 NSIC)
Head Coach: Rob Frost (2nd Season)
Nickname: Marauders
Top Returner: Judith Burke (Jr., 82 SP, 248 kills, 18 total blocks)

Minot State
2026 Record: 4-21 (0-16 NSIC)
2025 Record: 3-27 (1-19 NSIC)
Head Coach: Josh Wastvedt (1st Season)
Nickname: Beavers
Top Returner: Caton Pearcy (Sr., 85  SP, 172 kills, 27 service aces)