Box Score In a battle of two top-10 clubs, the University of Minnesota Duluth attempted to knock off the country's top team for a fifth time in six years. It wasn't meant to happen as it endured a 3-0 setback to Southwest Minnesota State University Saturday afternoon. It was a valiant effort however as the Bulldogs had an opportunity to win each set but were not able to cash in.

The No. 1 Mustangs tied their second longest win streak in school history as UMD got blanked for the first time in 53 games. The last time that occurred as on Oct. 24, 2015 at Concordia University, St. Paul. UMD suffered its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference loss even though it hit over .300 for the 11th consecutive match. The Bulldogs hit .315 on the day but Southwest Minnesota State (14-0, 7-0 NSIC) was more effective attacking at a .386-clip.

Sophomore setter Emily Torve whipped up a game-high 42 assists. Junior right side hitter Sarah Kelly led the Bulldogs with 12 kills. Freshman outside hitter Kate Berg had 11 kills, nine coming in the first two sets and led all players with three aces. Sophomore libero Keena Seiffert scooped up 10 digs. Seiffert claimed double-digits tallies for a fourth straight time.

The Bulldogs slid out to a 5-2 lead in the first off a back-to-back kills by Kelly and then consecutive kills by Berg. Morgen and Berg added aces to force a Mustang timeout with the Dogs up 9-6. The 75 second pause didn't faze UMD as sophomore middle blocker Abby Thor, junior right side hitter Makenzie Morgen and a Berg service ace caused another SMSU timeout.

This time the timeout worked as the Mustangs squeezed the lead to 13-11 and both teams battled until SMSU eventually tied it at 19. The Mustangs grabbed the lead for the first time since 2-1 the following point and stole the first set 25-21 from the Bulldogs. SMSU took the next set 25-23 and only trailed after an opening service ace by Torve. UMD tied the match six different times but never could flip the script.

Taylor Reiss, the NSIC Player of the Year from last season, was held in check the first two sets but controlled the third set as she racked up nine of her game-high 17 kills in the final frame.

The Bulldogs had no answer for Reiss as she thumped down five of the Mustangs' first eight points. UMD did rally to tie third and took the lead on the longest run of the set. Torve faked a set and found an open gap for a kill. Berg would give the Bulldogs the lead on her third ace of the afternoon. A kill by Thor the next point pushed UMD to a mini 3-0 run. SMSU in similar fashion to the beginning of the match grabbed the lead down the stretch and ended the Bulldogs' 10-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs return home next weekend to face Minnesota State University, Mankato Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in Romano Gymnasium.