The University of Minnesota Duluth sure picked a great way to rebound from two losses. UMD (22-2, 14-2 NSIC) downed second-ranked Southwest Minnesota State University (20-4, 14-2 NSIC) in straight sets in front of a packed Romano Gymnasium on Saturday evening.

With the win, the Bulldogs move back into a tie atop the Northern Sun Intercollegiate standings. This was the second time of the season UMD has matched up in a top two showdown, with the other being a Sept. 30 victory over Concordia University-St. Paul. The Bulldogs improve to 64-16 all-time against SMSU, and are now 6-1 when taking on ranked teams this year.

Head coach Jim Boos highlighted his team's effort in bouncing back from a Friday night loss, "We knew it was going to be a really tough contest today, and I felt like we responded with a lot more energy and a lot more efficiency than we have in the past."

UMD outhit the Mustangs .284 to .239, behind an impressive performance from sophomore right side hitter Sarah Kelly. The Chaska, Minn. native racked up 14 kills on 22 attacks, good for a .455 attack percentage. Also providing significant offensive contributions was senior outside hitter Taylor Wissbroecker and sophomore outside hitter Makenzie Morgen, picking up 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Freshman setter Emily Torve tallied 44 assists while adding two kills on four attempts. Defensively, the Bulldogs got the job done on the net, picking up 10 blocks on the night. Junior middle blocker Allison Olley led the way with six blocks, with Kelly adding four blocks of her own.

Though UMD won the match in straight sets, each frame was closely contested. The Bulldogs grabbed an early 5-2 lead and were unable to put away SMSU. The Mustangs hung around, closing the gap to just 22-21 late in the set. UMD picked up three of the next four points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Sophomore libero Erin Schindler had four first set digs, a large factor in holding Southwest Minnesota to a match-low .182 attack percentage.

UMD opened the second set with another quick lead at 4-2. The Mustangs responded with a run of their own -- rattling off five of the next six points and forcing head coach Jim Boos to take a timeout. After the teams battled to a 14-14 tie, the Bulldogs leaped ahead with a five point run and would not look back. Following Kelly's fourth kill of the set, UMD grabbed a 25-23 win and 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bulldogs returned to the court looking to put away SMSU quickly. UMD again jumped ahead early 4-1, but the Mustangs were able to stick around the remainder of the set. Holding a 19-16 lead, five straight Southwest Minnesota points put the Bulldogs behind by a pair. The teams battled to extra points, but it was UMD that prevailed with a 29-27 set and match win. Morgen and Kelly picked up seven kills a piece in the final frame, guiding the Bulldogs to a .267 attack percentage.

UMD will look ahead to yet another tough opponent, as rival Concordia-St. Paul comes to Duluth to take on the Bulldogs next Friday (Nov. 4).