UMD Volleyball Perfect in NSIC

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

The University of Minnesota Duluth completed an undefeated Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season, holding on for a 3-2 defeat of No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State University in the regular season finale Saturday in Marshall, Minnesota

No. 2 UMD (28-1, 20-0 NSIC) went undefeated through the NSIC schedule for the first time since 2002 and for the first time ever since the advent of the 20-game regular season. UMD went 12-0 in back-to-back seasons in its days in the North Central Conference in 2006 and 2007. Southwest Minnesota (20-8, 15-5 NSIC) settles into a fourth-place finish in conference play, taking the 15-25, 25-23, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13 defeat.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The Mustangs got a heavy dose of UMD’s All-NSIC First Teamer Mariah Scharf as the junior outside hitter collected 24 kills on the night.  UMD’s All-NSIC middle blockers, junior Monica Turner and sophomore Sydnie Mauch had 12 kills. Junior setter Ashley Hinsch had 60 assists on UMD’s 70 kills.
• The Bulldogs hit just .223 in the match as Southwest Minnesota dominated the net with 16 blocks. When the offense could get past, UMD prevailed though as they hit .300 in the tying game two and .333 in the clinching game five. The Bulldogs had seven blocks, four by Scharf (two solo), and senior libero Julie Rainey had 21 digs while Hinsch added 14 to round out a double-double.

The opening frame was all Southwest Minnesota as the Mustangs hit .519 with 15 kills, leading the entire game with a 25-15 opening game victory. It would be the only dominant win of the match: the final four sets all decided by a pair of points. The two teams had 35 lead changes and 17 tie scores the rest of the way. Both teams were strong in the second set as UMD evened the score 1-1 with a 25-23 victory, despite being out-hit .314 to .300 in the set.

As good as both teams looked after two, the teams struggled to terminate in the third set, combining to hit just .179. The Bulldogs got the edge by making runs at the right time, breaking a 21-all tie to go up 23-21, and then rebounded after falling behind again 24-23 to take the final three points and gain an edge. The Bulldogs actually out-killed the ball in the fourth set 16-13, but seven Bulldog attack errors helped Southwest turn a .256 hitting performance into a 25-23 win.

The fifth set saw the teams tie 11 times – nearly ever point – to a 13-13 score as neither team ever led by more than two points. Senior right-side hitter Maddy Siroin‘s ninth kill of the match gave UMD a 14-13 edge, and an attack error by SMSU gave the Bulldogs the game 15-13. Freshman outside hitter Kenzie Beekman had a team-high 17 kills for Southwest, while NSIC Freshman of the Year, middle blocker Eisha Oden hit .346 with 13 kills and seven blocks. Senior libero Whitney Burmeister had a game-high 22 digs, while freshman setter Megan Larson had 52 assists.

UP NEXT
UMD will host eighth-seed the University of Sioux Falls or Augustana (S.D.) College in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC/U.S. Bank Tournament on Tuesday evening, with a chance to play host to the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament with a victory at Romano Gym. Opening serve is set for 7:00 p.m.