BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The eighth-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team opened its 2023 campaign with a pair of victories over Adelphi University (N.Y.) and (RV) Ferris State University (Mich.) at the Ferris State Invitational on Friday.
 
Match 1: #8 UMD 3, Adelphi 1
The Bulldogs took the first two sets and held off the Panthers (0-1) to win in four sets in their season opener.
 
UMD recorded a match-high 18 kills in the opening set en route to a 25-22 victory. The Bulldogs trailed early in the set until three consecutive kills, two of which coming from Payton Addink, gave UMD the lead. Adelphi would tie it at 16-16 later in the set, but the Bulldogs responded with a 5-1 run with a pair of kills from Addink and Cianna Selbitschka. A Samantha Paulsen kill gave Minnesota Duluth the set.
 
The second set saw UMD jump out to an early lead with three separate runs of four straight points to make it 13-8. The margin got as high as seven in the set with the Panthers making a run late to cut it to 23-21 before a Selbitschka kill and an Adelphi error gave UMD a two-set lead at 25-21.
 
After the Panthers stayed alive by winning the third set 25-22, the Bulldogs trailed 23-20 in the fourth set until a Paulsen kill and back-to-back hitting errors tied the set at 23-23. However, Adelphi was still on the verge of forcing a fifth set following a UMD service error to make it 24-23. Two consecutive hitting errors by the Panthers gave UMD match point at 25-24. The teams then exchanged service errors before Addink finally gave UMD the match by terminating the point with her career-best 13^th kill to give the Bulldogs the 27-25 set four victory.
 
Selbitschka led the way with a match-high 19 kills and added 18 digs for a double-double. Paulsen finished with 10 kills. Madison Gordon also recorded a double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs. Kaylyn Madison led the team with 29 digs.
 
This was the first known meeting between the two programs. Adelphi was a regional finalist last season.
 
Match 2: #8 UMD 3, Ferris State 1
In the battle of the Bulldogs to conclude the day, Minnesota Duluth would rally after dropping the first set and roll to another four-set victory over tournament host Ferris State, handing FSU its first-ever loss at the new Bulldog Arena.
 
UMD fell behind 10-3 in the first set and could not recover as Ferris State went up a set 25-17. The second set was back-and-forth for the first 12 points until UMD went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-6 lead. Later in the set, Minnesota Duluth used four straight points to distance itself further and take the second set 25-19 to tie the match.
 
The pivotal third set saw UMD record an astounding .708 hitting percentage with 19 kills and only two hitting errors. Ferris State led at just one point early in the set as Minnesota Duluth went up 2-1 with a 25-17 set three victory.
 
UMD would not give the home team any momentum in the fourth set as it scored six of eight points after the set was tied at 13-13. Four different Bulldogs registered kills during that stretch. A pair of errors by Ferris State gave UMD the match win with a set score of 25-19.
 
Hope Schjenken led UMD with a career-high 15 kills on a .542 hitting percentage. Schjenken also added a team-best three total blocks. Selbitschka added another double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs. Paulson also reached double-figures in kills again with 13. Gordon had 49 assists and Madison led the way with 19 digs.
 
Ferris State, who swept Thomas More University (Ky.), earlier in the day, drops to 1-1. Ferris State is the preseason favorite to win the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) after capturing both the GLIAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and advancing to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship match a year ago.
 
Opening Day Thoughts from Coach Boos
"We had some nerves in the first match. We never really got our feet underneath us and didn't play our game with tempo, so we kind of grinded our way through. I was proud of the fact that despite the match not going as smoothly and efficiently as we wanted, the team fought through some tough spots and made some big plays in big moments to end that first match in four sets. Payton did a really nice job. She has been working really hard to get opportunities and was a big part on why we were able to grind that match out."
 
"We carried that same play level into the second match and Ferris came out energetic and aggressive. Then something clicked and we went back to what we are capable of being and what we were a lot of last year. We really got the offense running with our side out and hitting efficiency much better. Ferris was putting a lot of blocking attention towards Cianna, so we knew we had to take advantage of it and get others involved and Hope just went off. She had some really impressive swings."
 
"It was a really good match against a high-quality team. Ferris is going to do really well this year. That is a super-athletic and physical team. To beat them on their home floor after how the day started says a lot about how the team responded."
 
Up Next
Due to scheduling disruptions and adding a team to the Tournament, UMD's match times have changed for Saturday. The Bulldogs now face Malone University (Ohio) at 10:30 a.m. local time and then Wayne State University (Mich.) at 2:30 p.m.