The University of Minnesota Duluth continued to make quick work of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes with a three-set sweep of No. 17 Wayne State College on Saturday afternoon in Wayne, Nebraska.
No. 2 UMD (13-1, 6-0 NSIC) stands as the final undefeated team in league play as they knock Wayne State (12-2, 5-1 NSIC) from the ranks of the unbeaten by set scores of 25-21, 25-18, and 25-14.
HIGHLIGHTS• Senior right-side hitter
Maddy Siroin and junior setter
Ashley Hinsch each collected a double-double for the Bulldogs. Siroin had 10 kills and 13 digs, while Hinsch had 41 assists and 11 digs. Senior libero
Julie Rainey (24) and senior outside hitter
Katie Ledwell (11) also hit double-digit digs as defense was a team-wide affair on the night.
• Sophomore middle blocker
Sydnie Mauch led the way with 12 kills on 18 swings without a single error for a .667 hitting percentage. Mauch also teamed up for four blocks, but it was Siroin's six that led the Bulldogs in that chategory. UMD hit .248 on the afternoon, nearly ten percent better than the night before while holding Wayne State to just an .070 attack percentage.
UMD has yet to lose an opening set at all this season, but the Bulldogs faced a back-and-forth challenge in game one with the Wildcats. Wayne scored four straight points to lead 16-15, UMD handed the Wildcats the same fate and took a 19-16 lead. The Bulldogs got points from five different athletes as they closed out the first set 25-21.
The second set saw UMD look more dominant, falling behind 1-0 before scoring eight of the next of the next 10 points. They held that lead up to 13-10, and then scored eight of 11 points to lead 21-13 and cruised to a 25-18 victory. The Bulldogs jumped up with an early 5-0 lead in the third set and built from there, picking up their most dominant set win of the match 25-14.
UP NEXTThe Bulldogs will continue on the road next weekend when they travel to Winona State University and Upper Iowa University for more NSIC action. Opening serve between UMD and WSU is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening.
