Maybe Wolves and Dragons aren’t so fierce

Coming home for their first home game in October, the Mavericks women’s volleyball team returns to the Taylor Center with a 7-7 record. 

Fresh off of its two wins over the University of Mary and Minot State, the Mavs are looking to add another two wins to push them firmly above the .500 mark. Their challengers in this homecoming week are the Minnesota State University, Moorhead Dragons and the Northern State Wolves. 

Two players stand out when you bring up the Mavs: Sophie Tietz and Kiya Durant. Tietz leads the way for the Mavs in kills, with 131 on the season to this point. She also ranks fourth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in service aces with 24. Durant trails just behind her in kills with 106 and has posted a .374 hitting rate. Emily Kern also contributes immensely on the defensive end as the trio of her, Tietz and Durant have combined for 146 blocks on the season, each ranking in the top 10 of the NSIC.

With those truths, the Mavs match up well against most teams due to their defensive prowess. 

On the docket for Friday are the 4-10 Dragons. While they have a less than ideal record at the current moment, they faced the tall task of taking on no. 6 St. Cloud State, no. 7 Minnesota Duluth and no. 2 Concordia St. Paul already.

The Dragons are led by a true no. 1 in Bridget Witzmann. Witzmann leads the team in kills (164), digs (141) and service aces (19). Their head coach is Kari Thompson, who is in her first year on the job. However, a fresh face leading the charge may benefit the Dragons. The Mavs have beat the Dragons 28 times to 11 losses in their competitive history.

A day later, the Mavs will wrap up their homecoming games with a tougher matchup against the Wolves. 

Despite an excellent 11-3 start to their season, the Wolves currently sit at fifth place in the NSIC. They currently have the NSIC leader in digs with Abby Meister (313) and Keri Walker, who ranks sixth in assists with 521. If Northern State is able to pull off a victory Saturday, they will have tied up the all-time series at 17 wins for each school. Head coach Brent Aldridge is in his 13th year with the team.

Again facing a quick turnaround, the Mavs will play the Dragons at 6 p.m. Friday night and come right back to play the Wolves at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Header Photo: After sweeping their previous two opponents, the next two Maverick volleyball challengers will be facing a team that is hungry for victory in order to continue their winning streak. (Dalton Grubb/The Reporter)

Write to Hayden Lee at hayden.lee@mnsu.edu