UMD Moves to NSIC Semis

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

On either side of the bracket – a pair of top-ten teams collided with a chance to claim the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament crown and clinch a berth in next week’s NCAA II Central Region Tournament. In the first match, third-seed No. 7 Wayne State (Neb.) College up-ended defending national champion No. 3 Concordia University, St. Paul in five sets. Seeking a second-straight NSIC Tournament Championship, the University of Minnesota Duluth jumped up 2-0 on No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State University and held on for a 3-1 win at Romano Gymnasium on Friday evening.

No. 2 UMD (30-1) extended its winning streak to 24 straight matches and also set a record for the best start in program history with 30 wins in its first 31 matches, sending Southwest Minnesota State (21-9) home for the weekend though the Mustangs, like Concordia (26-5), remain eligible for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS
• All-NSIC First Team junior outside hitter Mariah Scharf knocked down eight kills in the fourth set to finish with a team-high 18 on the night. Sophomore middle blocker Sydnie Mauch added 11 to go with four blocks, while junior middle Monica Turner stole the show at the net with four solo blocks and six total in the match. Senior outside Katie Ledwell had 16 digs, three blocks, and eight kills, while senior right side Maddy Siroin just missed a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs.

Mariah Scharf               Sydnie Mauch                Monica Turner                Katie Ledwell                     Maddy Siroin

• NSIC Player of the Year, junior setter Ashley Hinsch added 49 assists for UMD, also narrowly missing a double-double with eight digs to go with three kills and three blocks. Senior NSIC Libero of the Year Julie Rainey had 22 digs to lead the Bulldogs as they held Southwest Minnesota State to just a .155 hitting percentage

Ashley Hinsch                  Julie Rainey 

UMD looked primed for a three-set sweep, taking a back-and-forth opening frame 25-22, standing tall 25-15 in the second set, and opening up an early 3-0 lead in the third. Southwest showed its resiliency, scoring five of the next seven to tie up the score. After stalling a Bulldog rally at two points, Southwest opened another run of six of eight points to take a lead. UMD battled back to knot the score at 17-all with a race to eight points settling the third game. Unfortunately, three straight Bulldog errors led into a timeout by head coach Jim Boos. UMD would trade points the rest of the way, but Southwest Minnesota held on to take it 25-22.

The Bulldogs opened the fourth set firing as Hinsch dropped in the first kill and UMD opened up a 6-1 lead. Southwest would slowly battle its way back into it, and took the lead running off six points in a row. Boos called the team over for a timeout, and the Bulldogs responded with a six-point run of their own to reclaim a four-point lead. UMD worked in another four-point run thanks to a pair of kills by Siroin and solo blocks by Turner and Ledwell to keep the Mustangs at bay and hold on for a 25-21 fourth set, and 3-1 match, victory. The Bulldogs would hit .232 for the game, but .295 in the deciding fourth game. UMD’s 12 blocks, including seven solo, proved the difference in the match though SMSU did get 12 kills from Freshman of the Year, middle blocker Eisha Oden and fellow first-year outside hitter Kenzie Beekman.

UP NEXT
UMD will meet Wayne State (26-5) in search of its second consecutive NSIC Tournament Championship tomorrow afternoon at Romano Gym. Opening serve is set for 4:00 p.m.