The University of Minnesota Duluth offense struggled when pushed came to shove on the opening day of the Wildcat Open.

The top-ranked Bulldogs dropped the first match to Michigan Tech University in straight sets (21-25, 21-25 25-27). Northern Michigan won in four sets (23-25, 15-25, 25-16, 23-25) as UMD never could find the offensive flow as it ended up hitting .074 for the day. The third set of the Northern Michigan match produced its best hitting percentage -- .233 on 11 kills in 30 attempts -- with it hitting under the .200-mark in four of the seven sets.  

Packing an offensive punch has been a staple for head coach Jim Boos but today was an anomaly. The Bulldogs hit below the .140-mark in consecutive matches for the first time since Aug. 25, 2005. It was the first time UMD was held under that threshold in the 25-point scoring system. 

Mistakes reared their heads familiar to the season opener against the University of Findlay. The Bulldogs hit .083 for the match with 39 kills and 28 errors on 133 attempts. Michigan Tech forced UMD into 11 errors in the first two sets. The Bulldogs lost a late lead in the third and ended up losing the set 27-25 and the match.

Sophomore outside hitter Kate Berg had the best game among Bulldog hitters registering 11 kills on a .214 hitting percentage. Senior right side hitter Sarah Kelly did what she could to stuff the stat sheet. Kelly wound up with 11 kills of her own to go along with nine digs and five blocks.

The Huskies were just sightly better with their terminations, finishing their attack at .164. As a unit, the Bulldogs had eight blocks but seemed a step slow in a few of their assignments, allowing easy points for the Huskies. Mariah Sherman and Olivia Shormley carried the load for Michigan Tech each one knocking down a match high 12 kills.

Leticia Antunes had a game high 21 kills in the nightcap showdown. The Wildcats made UMD commit enough mistakes to turn the sets their way. The Bulldogs had more aces, blocks and digs in the matchup and even matched the Northern Michigan 46-kill count. The Wildcats were the No. 1 team last season in blocks per set and UMD outblocked them 12-9.

Senior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen tallied 11 kills to lead all Bulldogs. Junior middle blocker Abby Thor accounted for 10 kills and five blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Lexy Langenfeld also had five blocks. Freshman defensive specialist Sydney Lanoue, junior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert and Berg all notched double-digit digs with 14, 13 and 10, respectively.

 The Bulldogs play Lake Superior State University and Northwood University tomorrow to wrap up the Wildcat Open. Opening serve against the Lakes is set for 10 a.m. CST.