The University of Minnesota Duluth got a test of its intestinal fortitude against Minnesota State University Mankato needing comebacks in the second and third sets to take the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match in straight sets on Friday evening at Romano Gym.
No. 2 UMD (16-1, 9-0 NSIC) won the opening set going away, 25-15, but Minnesota State (10-6, 6-3 NSIC) battled to 19 ties in the second set before the Bulldogs escaped with a 29-27 victory, and then won 25-15 again in the third.
HIGHLIGHTS•
Mariah Scharf led the Bulldog offense with 17 kills, hitting .516 on the night with her only attack error coming in the third set. UMD hit .320 on the night as a team as junior setter
Ashley Hinsch collected 40 assists.
• Senior outside hitter
Katie Ledwell led UMD with 13 digs - the first time anyone besides senior libero
Julie Rainey has led UMD in that category since the first match of last season on Sept. 6, 2013 when Ledwell again led the Bulldogs with 23. Rainey, junior setter
Ashley Hinsch, and senior right side hitter
Maddy Siroin each had eight digs in the match tonight.
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UMD looked primed to run away with the match in the opening set with a 25-15 victory in which they never trailed or tied the score with Minnesota State, but the second set saw a number of "silly mistakes," at least according to head coach
Jim Boos. "Mankato certainly played well. They were aggressive. They got us out of system a bunch. Of all of the things that can go wrong in volleyball, we had a bunch happen all at once. More importantly, I like that we found a way to collect ourselves and still fight back to win that set." The score was tied 19 times in all with the Mavericks seemingly matching UMD point-for-point until the Bulldogs finally edged them 29-27.
When the score was tied at 2-2 in the third set, UMD scored the next six points to pull ahead and held on the rest of the way, the lead never shrinking closer than four points as the Bulldogs cruised to a 25-15 set victory. For the match, MSU freshman outside hitter Sydney Powell finished with nine kills to lead the Minnesota State attack, while junior setter Ellie Van de Steeg finished with 24 assists. Sophomore libero Haley Fogarty hauled in 13 digs for the Mavericks, while MSU was tough on the net collecting nine team blocks compared to just three for UMD. Freshman middle blocker Vikoila Meade teamed up for seven, while Powell played her part in five.
UMD hosted its annual "Pink Game" benefitting Essentia Health with a silent auction and charity t-shirts for sale. Before the match, a $500 check was awarded to Essentia Health from the Bulldog women's basketball team.
UP NEXTUMD will be back at Romano Gym tomorrow afternoon as the rivalry renews when No. 3 Concordia University, St. Paul comes to Duluth for an NSIC showdown. Opening serve is set for just after 4:00 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live locally via the My9 Sports Network.
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