Graduate middle blocker Ellie Dammann and junior middle blocker Kylie Broten each posted season-highs in kills Friday night but it wasn't enough to upset the No. 6 Wayne State College at the Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. The Wildcats posted a 25-20, 26-24, 25-21 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over the No. 20 University of Minnesota Duluth despite being outdone 46-38 in kills.
 
Dammann racked up nine kills and Broten, who became the fifth Bulldog to notch 100 kills this season, paced the club with 12 kills. The middle blocker duo shined in an otherwise rocky offensive output. The Bulldogs hit .151 for the match and combined for 27 errors. However, Dammann hit .353 and Broten was an even better .400 from the floor as they were able to find open holes in the Wayne State vaunted defense.
 
The Wildcats, who owned the fourth highest block rate in the NSIC coming into tonight, possessed a physicality at the net that disrupted the attack with 13 blocks, the most for Wayne State in a three-set match. The .151 offensive output was the second-lowest mark for UMD this season.
 
Wayne State (14-2, 8-0 NSIC) extended their winning streak to nine in a row. The Bulldogs (8-7, 1-6 NSIC) dropped their fifth straight and are still without a win in the month of October. The current skid is the longest winless drought for the program since 1993.

Hitting errors was the main deterrent in UMD's road upset bid. The Bulldogs dropped the first set after the Wildcats forced 13 hitting errors compared to their two. Wayne State bolstered five blocks in the opening set and five more in the second. The Bulldogs nearly took the second set -- and the first against Wayne State on their home floor this season – after they annihilated 22 kills, the most in a single set this season for UMD. The Bulldogs held their largest lead of the night in the third set. A 10-6 advantage disappeared after the Wildcats, who boast the fifth best hitting percentage in the nation, found their rhythm and hit a match-high .333-clip.

After being held without an ace on the score sheet for the first time all season on Tuesday, UMD gathered six aces from five different servers including two from senior defensive specialist Emma Kujawa.

Graduate defensive specialist Kaylyn Madison paced the defense with 20 digs, her fourth straight 20-plus dig effort. Madison is on the heels of passing Krista Naughton for eighth on the UMD all-time digs chart. She needs 18 digs to surpass Naughton.

The Bulldogs wrap up the brief road stand with a NSIC match against Augustana University tomorrow. First serve from the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., takes place at 2:00 p.m.