Another night, another sweep for the University of Minnesota Duluth, defeating Upper Iowa University in straight sets.
 
UMD (12-0, 4-0 NSIC) extended its season-opening win streak to 12 games, the longest streak since the 2012 Bulldogs began their season with 13 wins. With the victory, UMD has also extended their consecutive set streak to 28 dating back to a Sept. 3 battle with then eight-ranked Ferris State University. Upper Iowa (6-7, 0-4 NSIC) continues its slow start in Northern Sun Collegiate Conference play by dropping its fourth straight match.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Makenzie Morgen set a new career best with 16 kills while leading the Bulldog attack. Morgen added in seven digs and two blocks to contribute to the winning effort. The efficient UMD offense ran through freshman setter Emily Torve, who recorded 43 assists on the match – good for 14.33 per set. Senior outside hitter Taylor Wissbroecker wound up one kill shy of her third double-double of 2016, knocking down nine kills in addition to 11 digs. The Bulldogs continued their stifling defense by holding the Peacocks to hitting .112 and tying a season high with 10 blocks.
 
UMD wasted little time by running off a 12 point run to start the opening set while forcing Upper Iowa to use both of their timeouts. The timeouts did not slow down the Bulldogs, as they continued to dominate by racking up six of the next seven before taking the set by a dominating score of 25-5.
 
Upper Iowa seemed to learn from its first set mistakes by forcing the second set to go down to the wire - UMD was never able to grab more than a four point lead. After playing to an 18-18 tie, the Bulldogs would take the lead and never look back. Wissbroecker recorded four straight kills to lead the Bulldogs to a 25-21 set victory.
 
The third and final set was the most closely contested set of the match, as it took UMD an extra point to earn the 26-24 victory. Unlike the first two sets, the Bulldogs were forced to play from behind for much of the time, including facing a 21-19 deficit. As they've done all season, the second-ranked Bulldogs put everything together to record six of the next eight points and capture yet another sweep.
 
UMD will return to the court on Saturday afternoon for a Top 10 NSIC showdown against No. 9 Winona State University. Opening serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.