The Bulldogs kept their strong play going into the second day of the St. Cloud State invitational, improving to 6-1, sweeping both the South Dakota School of Mines and No. 14 Wheeling Jesuit.
 
The Bulldogs started the day hot, as they were out pacing the Rockers, hitting at a .294 clip, while SDM hit at .174 clip. They managed to outpace the Cardinals as well, clipping at a .311, while Jesuit finished with a .211 clip.
 
UMD faced a tough opponent in the Rockers, as they would go toe to toe in the first sets, with points going back forth to start each of the first two sets. The Bulldogs started the first set down 6-3, battling their way back and eventually pulling it within one point to make it 13-12. UMD would take the lead 17-15, but SDM rattled off four straight to retake the lead 19-17. Head coach Jim Boos would call a timeout, and in doing so, saw the Bulldogs take the reins from that point on. UMD would rattle come to rattle off four straight points and take the lead 23-20. The Bulldogs would come to close the set 25-21.
 
The second saw more of the same, with play going back and forth, with UMD eventually taking off and gaining a 20-17 lead, forcing the Rockers to call a timeout. The Bulldogs came out of the timeout, going on a 3-1 run, forcing SDM to call another timeout. UMD finished out the frame, beating the Rockers 25-18. In the third set, SDM started strong, going up 5-2. The Bulldogs started to heat up, going on a 12-1 run, seeing the lead grow to 14-6. UMD didn't look back from then on, closing the match with a 25-15 victory.
 
Senior middle blocker Abby Thor rattled off 11 kills, while collecting five blocks in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Meredith Sutton hammered 11 kills as well. Senior outside hitter Kate Berg had 10 kills in the match and had eight digs along the way. Senior setter Emily Balts dished 37 assists, digging seven balls as well. Senior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert had three assists and 17 digs, totaling her digs to 1,015 on her career, passing the 1,000 mark in the first set.
 
The Bulldogs took on No.14 Wheeling Jesuit in the second match. Every set was a back and forth battle, with both teams limiting the other side to less than three rallies. After starting down 4-2 in the first set, UMD would chip away slowly at WJU's lead, eventually going on a six-point run to take the lead 18-15. The Bulldogs would hold that lead, closing out the set 25-20.
 
In the second set, UMD would again start down 6-1. After a quick timeout, the Bulldogs rallied five straight to get right back into things. UMD took the lead and it was a see-saw from there until the final point in the match, with neither team scoring more than three points in a row. The Bulldogs would prevail, taking the match 25-21. The third set saw tight play to start, with five ties taking place before either team saw 10 points. UMD would hold their own and take the set 25-19, and win in straight sets.
 
Balts would hand out 51 assists in the match along with three kills. Seiffert had 18 digs and one assist. Thor had 13 kills in the sweep, collecting three blocks along the way. Berg smacked 20 kills in the match, clipping at a .304 for the match. Sophomore middle blocker Summer Ballard collected eight kills and had two blocks.
 
The Bulldogs will play again tomorrow at 9 a.m., taking on the Lake Superior State Lakers and finishing the St. Cloud State Invitational.