The University of Minnesota Duluth sent Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival Bemidji State University back up U.S. Highway 2 with a three-set sweep at Romano Gymnasium on Tuesday evening to start Homecoming 2014 at UMD.

No. 2 UMD (18-1, 11-0 NSIC) made quick work of Bemidji State (3-16, 1-10 NSIC) with set victories of 25-20, 25-13, and 25-20.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Reigning NSIC Offensive Player of the Week, junior outside hitter Mariah Scharf collected 12 kills on the night to lead the way for the Bulldogs, while senior outside Katie Ledwell and sophomore middle blocker Sydnie Mauch each had 11. The league's Setter of the Week, junior Ashley Hinsch, led the Bulldog offense with 46 assists, actually raising her per-set average from the weekend that earned her the honor. Hinsch now sits just 24 away from 3,500 for her Bulldog career and 38 away from claiming seventh-place all-time at UMD in the category.
• Senior libero Julie Rainey had 22 digs to lead the Bulldogs, while senior outside hitter Katie Ledwell added nine, just missing a double double.
 UMD learned quickly off the start of the match that Bemijdi State had come to play with both teams trading points as they felt each other out in the early going. The Bulldogs would eventually prevail 25-20, thanks in large part to Mauch who had seven kills on her first eight swings. UMD looked dominant in the second set, running away with a 25-13 victory and seemed primed to do so in the third set as well. Senior Jessica Zieman came off the bench and knocked down four kills on four swings, while Julie Rainey added a pair of service aces to put the Bulldogs up 6-0. Bemidji State mounted a comeback against the Bulldog reserves, and head coach Jim Boos called a late timeout with UMD's lead dropping to 22-20. He spoke only to assistant coach Christyn May, allowing the Bulldogs to catch their breath and focus. They did just that, scoring the final three points with match point being a thundering shot from Mauch. "That's the time we needed [everyone] to feel like 'this is normal, just like practice' and just rally around each other. We said some positive things, went out there, and got it done," said Mauch after the match.

"There's nothing I could tell them that was going to help out on the floor," said Boos. "They just had to come together as a group, figure out what they needed to do better, and take care of it." The Bulldogs hit just .125 in the final set, but Bemidji State hit .030, with six of its nine errors coming in the final frame. Conversely, the Bulldogs hit .321 for the match while holding Bemidji State to a .227 attack percentage. UMD had just one block from Mauch and Siroin while the Beavers had five including three solo from its top attackers. Senior middle blocker Rachel Craig led the way for BSU with nine kills and a pair of blocks, while senior setter Courtney Volkmann had 25 assists. Junior defensive specialist Courtney Fox led Bemidji State with eight digs while junior libero Kayla DeJong had seven.

UP NEXT
UMD will continue the Homecoming festitivities this weekend with a pair of NSIC matches against the University of Mary and Minot State this Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs take on the Marauders Friday evening at 7:00 p.m.