Bulldogs Stop St. Cloud

NSO-NEWS RELEASE

The University of Minnesota Duluth sweeped its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener against St. Cloud State University 3-0 on a milestone night for its coach on Tuesday in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The No. 3 Bulldogs (8-1, 1-0 NSIC) took down the Huskies (6-3, 0-1 NSIC) in straight sets, winning 25-17, 25-23, and 25-23.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Head coach Jim Boos celebrated his 400th career match on Tuesday evening. Since he took the helm in 2002, the Bulldogs are 339-61, winning at nearly an 85 percent clip (84.75, officially).
• Coming off the heels of an AVCA/Sports Imports NCAA II Player of the Week selection, junior middle blocker Monica Turner continued her strong play, knocking down 14 kills on 19 swings without a single error. Junior outside hitter Mariah Scharf and senior right side Maddy Siroin each hit double-digits in kills as junior setter Ashley Hinsch shared the offense, collecting 39 assists on the night.
• Defensively, senior libero Julie Rainey led the way with 21 digs, while Hinsch and sophomore defensive specialist Teal Tomaszewski helped with eight and seven, respectively. At the net, Siroin and senior middle blocker Jessica Zieman each had three blocks, while Turner and Scharf each added a pair.

The Bulldogs jumped out early on St. Cloud State in the first set, taking a five-point lead at 10-5, but the Huskies scored six of the next seven points to pull even at 11-all. UMD went on a run of its own to take a 19-12 lead when freshman setter Kelly Madison dropped in a service ace after a pair of kills from Scharf. From there, UMD held on and took the first set 25-17. The second and third set were more tightly contested, each ending with identical 25-23 scores.

The second set saw nine tie scores before the Bulldogs finally took a two-point edge at 21-19 and held on, trading points the rest of the way. The third set saw the Huskies take the advantage, up 22-19. The Bulldogs scored four of the next five to knot the score, before one last kill by Scharf, and a service ace by senior outside hitter Katie Ledwell put the match on ice.

Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Doughty led the way for St. Cloud State with 10 kills, while sophomore right side hitter Macy Weller had seven kills and three five blocks on the night. Senior setter Erin Ohleman had 28 assists and four kills, while junior libero Briane Stamer had 19 defensive saves for the Huskies.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs finally return to their home court on Friday evening for a top-ten showdown with No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State University at Romano Gym. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. opening serve and will air locally on the My9 Sports Network.