HOUGHTON, Mich. -- The No. 7 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs opened up the season on the road against the Michigan Tech Huskies. The Bulldogs fell 0-3 (18-25, 25-27, 23-25) to the Huskies in a hard fought match.

The Bulldogs struggled in the attack tonight, finishing with a kill percentage of .161 and 17 attack errors on the night. Michigan Tech however, finished the night with a kill percentage of .216. 

The first set started with both teams going back and forth, with the score being tied 9-9. Michigan Tech soon turned it on and built up there lead to 18-11. The Bulldogs then scored the next two points before trading a series of points, where the Huskies outlasted the Bulldogs to win the set 18-25.

The second set started much like the first set, with both teams going back and forth with a score tied at 9-9. Teams would then trade 5-point runs halfway through the set, giving the Huskies a 16-14 advantage. The Huskies would then go on a run and build a 19-21 lead. A timeout by head coach Jim Boos would give the Bulldogs a lift as they would go to score 4 straight points after the timeout to take a 23-21 lead. The Huskies however battled back to tie it 24-24. After winning the next point to give them a 25-24 advantage, the Bulldogs could not hang on to the advantage and the Huskies would score the next three points to win the set. 

The Bulldogs started the third set hot, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. The Huskies would respond however, and would go on to win the next 13 of 17 points to take a 7-14 lead. Much like the second set, both teams would go on to trade three point runs bringing the score to 13-21 in the Huskies favor. The Bulldogs would not give up however, as they battle back to score 6 points in a row to get it to a 19-21 score. The Bulldogs late run however would not be enough as the Huskies would outlast the Bulldogs to win the third set 23-25. 

Sophomore Cianna Selbitschka led the team in total kills with 15 and lead the team in kill percentage with .244. Sophomore Grace Daak added 10 kills of her own, while fifth year Kate Berg added 5 kills. Redshirt-Junior Madison Gordon led the team with 33 assists on the day, while also adding 11 digs for a double-double. Senior libero Sydney Lanoue added 14 diggs on the day to lead the Bulldogs. 

To lead the Huskies, Jillian Kuizenga and Olivia Ghormley both contributed 15 kills each. Laura De Marchi led the team with 42 assists and also contributed 11 digs. Megan Utlak led the Huskies with 16 digs. 

While disappointed with the result, head coach Jim Boos is proud of how his young team fought, especially against a experienced team. Coach Boos is looking for his team to be patient and to continue to improve every day. 

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will continue action tomorrow in the Keeweenaw Classic as the face University of Wisconsin-Parkside tomorrow at 11:00 AM. The Bulldogs will also face Lake Superior State University tomorrow at 4:00 PM. All games will be played at Michigan Tech's SDC gym.