The top-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth kept at its winning ways on Friday night at Romano Gymnasium, downing No. 13 Northern Straight in three straight sets. With the victory, UMD moves to 18-0 (10-0 NSIC), which is the best start to a season the Bulldogs have ran off since 2011, marked by a 25 game win streak to begin the year.
The Bulldogs stuck to a familiar formula by getting contributions from much of the team while limiting mistakes. Five players racked up six or more digs, with senior outside hitter
Taylor Wissbroecker and sophomore outside hitter
Makenzie Morgen leading the way. Morgen ended with a team-high 14 kills and also added 10 digs to top off her fifth double-double of the season. Wissbroecker finished with an attack percentage of .542 - the second best by a Bulldog this season. Defensively,
Erin Schindler remained consistent by providing 11 kills in addition to three assists. Freshman setter
Emily Torve assisted 44 times, tying her season best for assists in a three set match. As a team, the Bulldogs downed 50 kills as opposed to just 11 errors for a hitting percentage of .351.
Wissbroecker and Morgen wasted little time to begin the match, as they jumped out with seven and six opening frame kills, respectively. The Bulldogs had some shaky moments towards the start of the match, but as they've done all season pulled it together to battle Northern State down to the wire. With UMD leading 24-23, Morgen came through and knocked down a kill to take the opening set. UMD outhit the Wolves .317 to .200 while also forcing Northern State into six attacking errors.
The Bulldogs came out in the second set and were able to propel to a much more comfortable victory by a score of 25-20. After a slim 7-6 lead, UMD ran off five straight points to go up six. The Bulldogs would not let Northern State push any closer than five points the remainder of the set thanks to an effective defense and some unforced errors by the Wolves. UMD had a nearly identical stat line in the second frame, finishing with 17 kills and four errors for a hitting percentage of .325.
As they've done on numerous occasions this season, the Bulldogs saved their most dominant set for last. UMD quickly jumped ahead 7-2 before extending the lead to 14-5, forcing a Northern State timeout. The Bulldogs would coast to the finish line from there, ending the night with a 25-15 set and match victory. UMD posted an impressive .433 attack percentage in the final set while holding Northern State to just .125.
The Bulldogs will look to extend their unbeaten season another day tomorrow evening as they take on Minnesota State University-Moorhead at 4 p.m. in Romano Gymnasium. Tomorrow's match will mark UMD's annual pink game in support of cancer awareness.
