In his 13th season at the helm of the University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team, head coach
Jim Boos is preparing for his 400th match on the bench for the Bulldogs, as UMD prepares to open its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season against St. Cloud State University on Tuesday evening in St. Cloud.
No. 3 UMD (7-1, 0-0 NSIC) comes off a 3-1 weekend at the Colorado Premier Challenge in which the team knocked off then-No. 4 Brigham Young University Hawaii, and a pair of teams receiving votes in last week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 poll before falling to then-No. 2 University of Tampa on Saturday morning.
"The overall level of play out in Denver was extremely high," said Coach Boos. "Getting to see our team respond to that intense level of athleticism and skill, it's great to come out of there with three wins. Disappointed we didn't play a little better in our loss to Tampa, but not disappointed that we lost. I think that loss could be very valuable to us. It exposed a couple things that we need to improve. I think that's one of the best couple of teams in the country right now, so we can't hang our heads after a defeat like that. Going into the weekend, you had to expect that a loss was a possibility given the teams we were playing."
UMD bounced back after the defeat and took down Metro State University of Denver in straight sets, and will look to build on that momentum moving forward.
QUICK HITS• Junior middle blocker
Monica Turner and junior setter
Ashley Hinsch each received All-Tournament Team honors at the Colorado Premier. Hinsch collected 185 set assists in four matches, good for a 14.20 per-game average, while also scoring 10 kills on 18 swings, three service aces, and six blocks in 13 sets. Turner led the UMD offense with 50 kills on the weekend, and just seven attack errors on 84 swings, good for a .512 hitting percentage and 3.85 per-set average. She collected 11 blocks, one solo, to lead UMD at the net.
• Senior libero
Julie Rainey led the Bulldogs on defense, hauling in 66 digs in four matches, a 5.08 per-set average while making just a pair of reception errors in 59 chances. She also collected 10 set assists and one service ace.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES (Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7:00 p.m.) -
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St. Cloud State (6-2, 0-0 NSIC) also went 3-1 in tournament action last weekend at the NSIC challenge in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Huskies knocked off Southwest Baptist University, along with a pair of NSIC foes before falling to then-No. 21 Northern State.
• St. Cloud spreads the ball around four primary attackers. Sophomore outside hitter Shannon Klink leads the way with 84 kills on the season, averaging 3.00 per set. Sophomore rightside hitter Macy Weller is hitting .394 with 2.54 kills per game. Senior outside hitter Kaitlin Doughty and junior middle Kellan Flynn also get their swings in, averaging two-plus kills per set each. The Huskies have a senior setter to distribute the ball in Erin Ohlemann. Her 11.25 assists per game are fifth-best in the NSIC.
• Defensively, junior libero leads the NSIC with 5.54 digs per game, and 155 on the season. Flynn, Weller, and Ohlemann have all been strong at the net. Flynn has 25 blocks on the young season, including four solos, to lead the way for the SCSU.
"Opening on the road is always going to be a challenge," said Coach Boos. "St. Cloud is off to a really nice start at 6-2. When they are in system, they really like to get their middles and right-side the ball, so that causes you to have to defend a lot of different angles. We have to do our best to make them uncomfortable and get them out of system. They want to keep everyone involved and move the ball around, just like we do."
BULLDOG 'BYTE "I've been very fortunate that our teams have extended some of our seasons to get some extra matches along the way to get to [match number 400] a little bit quicker. It's been a great run. We've had some talented kids come through here, and we've been fortunate to win more than we've lost. I wasn't aware [of the milestone], and that will give me something to reflect on in the next few months." - Coach Boos on reaching match number 400 for this career.
The action gets underway at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud.
