The University of Minnesota jumped back on the winning side of things Saturday night, defeating Minnesota State University-Mankato 3 sets to 1. With the win, UMD takes the season sweep against MSU and moves to 23-3 (15-3 NSIC).

The Bulldogs recorded a hitting percentage of .336, about twice as high as Minnesota State's attack percentage of .169. UMD topped MSU in nearly every statistical category - 57-45 in digs, 55-48 in kills, and 51-47 in assists. 

Sophomore outside hitter Makenzie Morgen led the match by downing 18 kills on 49 attacks for a .286 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Allison Olley put together an impressive offensive performance - connecting on 10 of 13 attacks for a .769 hit percentage. Freshman setter Emily Torve recorded 47 assists while adding six digs. Defensively, it was sophomore libero Erin Schindler and senior outside hitter Taylor Wissbroecker who paved the way, recording 18 and 10 digs, respectively.  Senior middle blocker Sydnie Mauch, who currently ranks second on the all-time UMD block list with 374, stuffed the Mavericks five times at the net in the victory.

The Bulldogs kicked off the match with an efficient 25-10 win, where they put together one of their most dominant offensive performances of the season. UMD hit a remarkable .727, hitting just one error while picking up 17 kills. Meanwhile, Minnesota State was held to just a .045 hitting percentage due to five errors. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never gave it back, thanks largely to 15-4 run to close out the set.

Althought the UMD offense couldn't match its first set performance, the Bulldogs held the Mavericks to their lowest hitting percentage of the match in the second frame. Minnesota State downed nine kills and had nine errors, resulting in an even .000 attack percentage. The set was much more closely contested, but UMD once again pulled away late, this time with a 12-3 run to cap off a 25-16 win.

After Minnesota State bounced back with a hard-fought third set victory, the Bulldogs responded by taking the decisive fourth set by a score of 25-22. Much like the second set, UMD pulled away with a late run to put down the Mavericks. Facing a 17-19 deficit, the Bulldogs went on to take eight of 12 and conclude the match with a 25-22 set and 3-1 match win.

UMD will finish off its regular season on the road next weekend with matches against Upper Iowa University and Winona State University.