Upper Iowa University gave the No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth all it could muster but the balanced attack of the Bulldogs prevailed to win in four sets (25-11, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19) over the Peacocks Tuesday night at Romano Gymnasium. UMD moves onward in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament and will play host to the semifinal and championship rounds this weekend.
The Bulldogs had four attackers register at least 10 kills for the second time in four matches. Junior right side hitter
Hanna Meyer led all players with 20 kills. Meyer, an All-NSIC second team selection, has notched the 20-kill threshold twice and was one kill shy of reaching her collegiate high mark set back against Minnesota State University Moorhead earlier this year. The Tomahawk, Minn., native has amassed 11 kills or more in the last five matches. She led all attackers with a .436 hitting percentage.
Senior middle blocker
Sarah Kelly had 13 kills while junior middle blocker
Abby Thor and sophomore outside hitter
Kate Berg each finished with 11 kills as UMD smashed 67 kills on a .228 hitting clip. The 67 kills tonight by the Bulldogs were the most for UMD in a four-set match and matched the second highest total in the NSIC this season.
Junior All-NSIC First Team setter
Emily Torve passed out 59 assists with at least 15 assists in three sets. The Bulldogs held a firm advantage in digs, winning the defensive battle against the NSIC's top digging team. UMD garnered 97 digs, a season high, compared to 80 by the Peacocks.
The Bulldogs pitched their best collective defensive work in more than 12 years. Tonight marked the first time since Oct. 28, 2006 that a trio of UMD players scooped up 20 or more digs. The trio of senior outside hitter
Makenzie Morgen, Berg and junior libero
Keena Seiffert combined for 70 of the 98 digs. Morgen collected a collegiate high 28 digs and Berg also tallied a career high as well with 22. Seiffert just barely sneaked in 20 digs as the trio joined Chelsea Meierotto, Whitney Meierotto and Kari Walford as the last Bulldogs to accomplish the feat.
The Bulldogs trailed 4-0 to start the contest but blew out Upper Iowa by 14 in the first set. Thor had six kills and Meyer added five in the first frame. UMD hit a heavy .350 after one set but the Peacocks tighten defensively the next three sets. The second and third sets were contested back-and-forth action with neither team allowing any major runs to pull ahead. Upper Iowa took the second set after going on a 7-1 run but almost choked it away as the Bulldogs crawled back to make it 24-23. The third featured nine ties and a pair of lead changes until Berg and Meyer thundered home kills to give UMD a 21-19 advantage. Meyer popped her fourth kill of the set on the Bulldogs' third set point to regain the lead.
Upper Iowa (18-11) ran out of gas in the final set. It dug a 7-1 hole to start the fourth and never could climb back to even. The Peacocks had it down to a two-point margin before UMD erupted on rallies of 4-0 and 5-0 to close out the final frame. The Bulldogs compiled 18 kills in the set led by Meyer and Kelly, whom each clobbered six kills in the fourth.
UMD captured its 23rd straight win at home and ended the Peacocks' season after Upper Iowa was in playoff mode the last three weeks. The Bulldogs pushed their record to 25-5, and collected its 10th tournament win including a 6-1 record in the NSIC quarterfinals.
The Peacocks finished the night with 43 kills on a .173 hitting percentage. They were led by Lauren Wombles who had a team high 12 kills and five blocks. Anna Winter, who posted 17 kills in the regular season contest against UMD, had 11 kills on a match high 51 attempts. Malissa LeClaire had 35 assists and 16 digs while Haley Weepie gathered 24 digs to led Upper Iowa.
The Bulldogs battle fifth-seeded University of Sioux Falls Friday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium. The winner of the semifinal match will take on the winner of Northern State University and Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday at 5 p.m.
