Senior outside hitter Mariah Scharf once again led the Bulldog attack as the University of Minnesota Duluth used a full-team effort to "spook" Upper Iowa University out of Romano Gymnasium in straight sets on Halloween Saturday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action.

No. 9 UMD (18-7, 11-5 NSIC) made it two-straight sweeps on the weekend with Scharf leading the charge, collecting 18 kills on 28 swings with just one error on the afternoon. Upper Iowa (14-11, 8-8 NSIC) stumbled out of the gates and never really got it going as the Bulldogs took the match 25-14, 25-16, and 25-11. The teams traded leads five times along with nine nine ties early in game two, but for the most part, the night belonged to UMD. Junior outside hitter Taylor Wissbroecker also reached double digits with 12 kills on the night. Sophomore middle blocker Allison Olley came off the bench in the third set and collected a pair including match point, while senior setter Ashley Hinsch had three kills on the night to go with her 43 assists.

On the defensive end, six Bulldogs had multiple digs on the night led by sophomore defensive specialist Kelly Madison who hauled in nine, followed by Wissbroecker who just missed a double-double with eight, tied with first-year libero Erin Schindler. Senior middle blocker Monica Turner and Scharf each were strong at the net with four blocks, one solo each on the day, as Turner continued to build on her UMD record-setting career block total. The Bulldogs hit .530 as a team while holding Upper Iowa to just an .098 attack percentage on the afternoon.

UP NEXT
UMD will look to build upon its two-match win streak next week and try to slip into a home playoff match when the Bulldogs hit the road for the final time in this NSIC regular season. The Bulldogs will take on Minot State University Friday night in Minot, N.D. Opening serve is set for 7:00 p.m.