MOORHEAD, Minn. - Looking to rebound from a tough home loss to begin conference play the University of Mary Volleyball team took on Minnesota State University Moorhead to continue their Northern Sun schedule.
 
The Marauders (5-6, 0-2 NSIC) had flashes of what they could be as a team against the Dragons (9-1, 2-0 NSIC), but couldn't find the magic touch as they fell in straight sets.
 
U-Mary started strong coming out of the gate in the first set with a 7-5 lead thanks to six kills from a slew of attackers, but the Dragons responded with a 6-1 run to put the Marauders into a 11-8 hole midway through the set. The Marauder's did what they could but failed to slow the Dragon attack as MSU-Moorhead methodically built up a 14-9 lead en route to a 22-14 advantage.
 
The Marauders appeared to finally get in gear as they scored four of the next five ponts thanks to an Elizabeth Garcia kill, followed by two Dragon attack errors and a team block from Garcia and Alexis Jacobs to cut the lead down to 23-18. Yet the Dragons put the finishing touches on the first set with a block and a Marauder error to take the first set 25-18.
 
MSU-Moorhead kept U-Mary on the defensive with an outpouring of points early in the second half to build an 8-3 lead, but the Marauders came roaring back with six of the next seven points off three Rachel Astrup service aces, two Jacobs kills, and another Astrup kill to tie the set at 9-9.
 
The Marauders kept the score close despite the Dragons holding on to a 18-16 lead, but MSU-Moorhead rattled off five straight points from two kills, a team block, a service ace and a Marauder error to close in on a two-set lead at 23-16. U-Mary responded with a 4-1 run thanks to two Dragon errors, a Freddie Campbell kill, and a team block from Garcia and Thayna Silva for one last chance at 24-20, but the final set ended on a bad set from the Marauders to make the score 25-20 final and put U-Mary in a two-set disadvantage.
 
The final set was unlike the first two as the Dragons jumped out to 7-4 lead and never looked back, the Marauders kept it close at 8-6 but couldn't find the right combination and the offense eventually stalled in the set. MSU-Moorhead built the lead up to 19-9 and cruised to a 25-12 third set win to hand the Marauders their second loss in conference.
 
Jacobs led the Marauders on the offense as she recorded 16 kills on 34 attacks for a .294 hitting percentage, in addition to four digs and one block assist.
 
Janell Finkbeiner spent most of the match as the primary driver of the offense as she finished with 16 assists in the match, along with seven digs.
 
Alex Brown anchored the back line as she finished with 16 digs in the match.
 
The Marauders will travel upstate as they pay a visit to Minot State University on Tuesday, September 22, at 7 pm.
 
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