DRAGONS ANXIOUS TO MAKE RUN AT NSIC TITLE

Sure, there are worries, and a challenging schedule will present a thorough test, but Minnesota State University Moorhead head coach Tammy Blake-Kath and her latest volleyball edition are not about to abandon their collective belief they fully belong in the 2007 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship sweepstakes.

MSU Moorhead made a spirited bid for another league championship last winter and finished 16-12 overall and 11-17 in the NSIC despite some serious injury issues.

It’s all about winning conference titles and qualifying for a post-season invitation in the rugged NCAA Division II North Central Regional for the Dragons, despite the loss of a pair of trusted starters. Missing are Jesseca White, who generated 9,012 career kills as a four-year fixture at outside hitter, and middle hitter Becky Anderson, a three-year starter.

While White and Anderson will be missed, the Dragons retain nine letterwinners, including seniors Cortney Marr (Wyoming), 5-7, Carrie Schwartzenberger (Moorhead), 5-6, and Julie Vancura (Anoka), 5-6, juniors Kelci Guenther (Williston, ND), 6-0, Megan Norling (Plymouth), 5-9, and Calla Oftedahl (Apple Valley), 5-4, and sophomores Sam Bourcy (Moorhead), 5-9, Keri Dowzak (Rosemount), 6-0, and Mary Sussenguth (Willmar), 6-1.

Vancura earned honorable mention All-NSIC laurels last year and produced 1,240 kills and 328 digs in 104 games. She finished third in the league last fall with 11.94 apg, and currently ranks third on the Dragons’ career chart with 4,029 lifetime skills and certainly rates favorably with the league’s elite.
Norling developed into a major force in the Dragon lineup and averaged 3.14 kpg while Guenther added 1.83 kpg. Oftedahl, as always, was rock solid on defense and was credited with a club best 4.54 dpg, and placed seventh in the NSIC at 4.67 dpg.

Blake-Kath also has substantial plans for a freshman recruiting class that includes 5-11 Kasey Fortmann, 5-11 Laura Greenwood, 5-10 Melissa Henderson, 5-6 Kathy Schwartzenberger, 6-0 Ashley Pyfferoen, 5-7 Leigh Splittstoesser and 6-0 Laura Tvrdik.

Again, the Dragons of 2007 will be thoroughly tested by a challenging schedule that includes 18 NSIC matches and non-conference dates with North Dakota and St. Cloud State.