Junior outside hitter
Makenzie Morgen saved one of her more memorable individual performances of her career when the University of Minnesota Duluth needed it the most. The second team All-NSIC selection posted 27 kills and 24 digs, both collegiate bests, to will the No. 6 Bulldogs to a five-set road victory over No. 22 Wayne State College. Morgen's 20-20 game was the first since Kate Lange netted 29 kills and 21 digs against the 2013 Wildcats on Oct. 25. Her 27 kills was the most since Nov. 18, 2015 when Mariah Scharf hammered home 31 kills over, oddly enough, the same Wildcats.
Morgen wasn't the only Bulldog to set a personal match-high as sophomore setter
Emily Torve dished out 65 assists and junior right side hitter
Sarah Kelly compiled 24 kills on the night.
The first set saw a series of runs by both teams but the biggest rally came by UMD. Trailing 22-17, Torve and freshman outside hitter
Kate Berg each recorded kills to draw it 22-19. Then WSC's Katie Stephens made three attack errors with two of those being sent back by the double block of Torve and senior middle blocker
Allison Olley to tie the set at 22. The Wildcats regained it the lead for a moment before Morgen blasted a pair of kills then Kelly ended the set.
The second frame was a carbon copy of the first. The Wildcats, this time, were able to hold off the late charge by UMD to take the set 25-22. Kelly had nine kills on 11 attacks in that set alone. The Bulldogs broke the 1-1 tie and blew the doors open in that frame taking it by the largest margin of the night at 25-17. Kelly and Morgen each tallied six kills and guided the Bulldogs to a .342 third-set hitting percentage. WSC got off to a 6-1 lead in the fourth as the Bulldogs attempted to end the match in four. The early blitz would spell disaster. UMD had the set tied at 21 on a kill by Berg but the Wildcats forced a fifth set.
The early advantage finally went the way of the Bulldogs in the fifth. Morgen, Olley, Berg and sophomore middle blocker
Abby Thor each recorded kills on the first four UMD points and they built a 9-6 lead later on Morgen's second kill of the set. Wayne State came within a point of tying it twice moments later, but just like the beginning the set, the Bulldogs gathered points from four separate attackers to end the match.
The Bulldogs, which ended the regular season 23-5 and 16-4 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, finished as the fourth seed and will host the fifth-seeded Winona State University Wednesday at Romano Gymnasium. The top eight teams in the conference advance to the NSIC tournament. The top four seeds host first round matches with the winners advancing to the semifinal and championship rounds on Saturday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov, 19. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals will host the semifinal and championship matches.
First serve of the NSIC quarterfinal vs the Warriors will begin at 6:00 p.m.
