Duluth, Minn. - The #10 UMD volleyball team defeated Northern State in straight sets Saturday to complete a full six-set sweep of the first two clubs to visit Romano Gym this season. The Bulldogs enter next week 12-0 with another weekend of home-cooking on the horizon.

Though the stat sheet shows that the Bulldogs won this match 3-0, this is a deceptive metric when it comes to measuring the level of competition present throughout. Early in the first set though, it didn't look like it would be that way at all, the match appearing to emulate a Bulldogs win against MSU Moorhead on Friday that lived up to its 3-0 billing. UMD jumped out to a 6-0 lead that they would eventually parlay into a 14-7 score. They'd be able to maintain this type of advantage all the way until the score hit 19-12, when the Wolves started to climb back into the set. Soon enough, on the back of a 6-0 run, the Wolves had not only battled back but had taken the lead at 21-20. A 24-22 Wolves lead saw the Bulldogs on the brink of falling down in sets in a match for the first time since September 2 and losing their first set at all since September 3. This is an iron man streak UMD wasn't ready to part with yet, as they rallied to take a hard-fought set 28-26. Cianna Selbitschka clearly hadn't lost a step since her big night against MSU Moorhead on Friday, closing the first set with nine kills on a .450 hitting percentage.

There was no 6-0 lead to be had for the Bulldogs to start the second set. They had to settle instead for a back-and-forth affair in which the score was tied at nine different points. This time it was UMD that took a 24-22 advantage before surrendering it to force extra rallies. The Bulldogs didn't allow for as much free volleyball this time around, though, closing the set 26-24 off of two consecutive kills. Selbitschka led her squad in kills once again with five.

The third and final set followed a strange cadence. It was the Wolves' turn to have a hot start, developing an early 10-5 lead. The Bulldogs then threw a counterpunch with a 9-4 run to even things at 14. Each team refused to go away until the Wolves tripped up at a score of 18-17 and were never able to pick themselves up off of the ground. The Bulldogs closed out the set with a 7-0 run to win the match. Samantha Paulsen led what was a very even Bulldogs attack in the third set with four kills on an eyebrow-raising .800 hitting percentage. 

Selbitschka was the Bulldogs' primary offensive target through-and-through in the match, closing it out with 16 kills. Gordon led the team with 25 assists. Sydney Lanoue led the team in digs with 9, with Kaylyn Madison right on her heels with eight. Grace Daak was a brick wall on the Bulldogs' front line, registering seven block assists.

Northern State was led by Sally Gaul's 11 kills and Keri Walker's 32 assists. The Wolves' own Madison in Madison Langlie led the way with 17 digs. Gaul paired a strong offensive night with an even stronger defensive outing, leaving the match with five block assists.

After the match, head coach Jim Boos gave recognition to both Northern State's effort and his own squad's ability to counter it.

"Give credit to Northern - they served us tough, and we struggled to stay in system as much as we wanted and had to grind all night," Boos said. "Blocking played a big part tonight.  Proud of the resilience of the group and happy with the energy that our subs brought in the second and third sets to help us finish. "

UP NEXT:
12-0 marks the Bulldogs' best start since a 2016 campaign that saw them win 21-straight matches. If the Bulldogs hope to top that number, they'll have to work for it. A 10-2 Augustana squad comes into Romano on Friday, September 23. On Saturday, September 24, the Bulldogs will face their most formidable opponent yet- a #3 Wayne State College team that's currently 14-0. This could very well end up being a battle to maintain perfection, one team being doomed to fail. Friday's game may be Pack The Gym Night, but fans might want to be in Romano for Saturday's match, too. 

Stay tuned for a full recap of both of the weekend's matches on Monday.