MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead volleyball is slated to conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule beginning this Thursday at the Javelina Volleyball Classic, hosted by Texas A&M Kingsville. The Dragons will play four matches across three days as part of the annual tournament. 

Live video and stats will be available at msumdragons.com. Please note that FloCollege, the official streaming partner of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a pay-per-view service. Moorhead begins the four-game tournament on Thursday against St. Mary's (Texas) at 4 p.m. Friday will see the Dragons take on host Texas A&M Kingsville at 8:30 a.m. before wrapping the day against Edinboro (Pa.) at 7:30 p.m. MSUM will conclude the tournament on Saturday in a match against Montana State Billings at 4:30 p.m. MSUM has begun the season with a 3-2 record behind wins over Texas A&M International, Colordao State Pueblo and Fort Lewis College. 

Etching All-Tourney...Moorhead went 2-2 as part of the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational last weekend. Following the four matches, Raiah Mandell and Ava Wild were voted by the tournament's coaches as all-tournament performers. Mandell was exceptional in her offensive attack all weekened, logging 38 kills and an over. 350 hitting percentage. Wild tallied 32 kills on the weekend for Moorhead to go along with 12 total blocks. 

Enter The Laq-down...Junior middle blocker Leah Laqua etched a strong start to her 2026 season in MSUM's first five matches. Laqua tabbed 25 kills at a .316 hit percentage, but the Fargo, N.D., product made a serious impact on defense. Through five matches, Laqua has racked up 22 total blocks, including 20 block assists. This included back-to-back seven block showings against 21st-ranked Angelo State and Texas A&M International .

Flying Under The Radar...One cannot ignore the strong play of senior Maci Martini through MSUM's first five contests. Martini turned in a career effort in MSUM's win over CSU Pueblo, marking a career-high 17 kills. The Pequot Lakes, Minn., native also had 12 digs in the win to secure a double-double. In total, Martini has logged 50 kills so far this season as well as 53 digs.

Piling Them Up...Senior setter Madi Colby has been a reliable performer on both sides of the net so far for MSUM. Colby has logged three double-doubles in Moorhead's first five matches. This included a 32-assist, 13-dig output against CSU Pueblo. Colby's assist total in that victory matched her career high. The Bismarck, N.D., product already has 107 assists this season. 

Preseason Buzz...Minnesota State Moorhead was selected to finish 11^th in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll while senior Raiah Mandell was named MSUM's 'player to watch'. Moorhead was slotted 11^th in the initial rankings thanks to 86 points. Mandell earns the 'player to watch' nod for MSUM after a strong junior campaign in 2025. The Mounds View, Minn., native played in all 29 matches for the Dragons, including a team-high 105 sets played. Mandell led the Dragons with 308 kills throughout 2025, tallying 325 total points. The senior tallied nine solo blocks a season ago and held a season-high of 18 kills. 

Coach Speak...Head coach Kari Thompson had this to say about her squad entering 2026: "I'm excited about the depth of experience we have in our program. The returning players have been a part of our system for multiple years now, and we have added some great newcomers and transfers that will continue to elevate the level of play for Dragon volleyball," said Thompson, who begins her fourth season in that post in 2026. "We will have a tough pre-season which will prepare us for the NSIC conference play."

Trending Up...Moorhead volleyball continued its upward trend in 2025. The Dragons secured a five-win improvement from 2024, going 14-15 overall. MSUM also won seven NSIC matches, a three-win improvement from the 2024 season. The 14 wins by Moorhead in 2025 is the highest total since the 2015 campaign. MSUM began the season a perfect 5-0, marking the first time since 2017 a Dragon team began the year with five straight victories. 
 

Opponent Scout
*2026 stats

St. Mary's
2026 Record: 3-1
2025 Record: 15-13 (12-5 LSC)
Head Coach: Kristine Pelky (1st Season)
Nickname: Rattlers
Top Returner: Laurene Robinson (Gr., 17 SP, 71 K, .354 hit %)*

Texas A&M Kingsville
2026 Record: 3-1
2025 Record: 18-10 (10-7 LSC)
Head Coach: Tanya Allen-Gonzalez (14th Season)
Nickname: Javelinas
Top Returner: Crawford Carrington (Jr., 24 K, .345 hit %, 8 total blocks)*

Edinboro (Pa.)
2026 Record: 3-1
2025 Record: 10-15 (5-9 PSAC)
Head Coach: Missy Soboleski (21st Season)
Nickname: Fighting Scots
Top Returner: Makayla Neelands (Sr., 14 SP, 50 K, 48 digs, 10 total blocks)*

Montana State Billings
2026 Record: 1-3
2025 Record: 2-22 (0-18 GNAC)
Head Coach: Scott Keister (2nd Season)
Nickname: Yellow Jackets
Top Returner: Allie Dorman (So., 15 SP, 47 K, 27 digs)*