The University of Minnesota Duluth took down the University of Mary in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action in straight sets (25-15, 25-5, 27-25) on Saturday afternoon inside the homely confines of Romano Gymnasium to improve to 14-9 overall and 7-8 in conference play. 

The Bulldogs extended their winning streak over the Marauders to 22 in a row as they have only dropped two of the 68 total sets against each other in the head-to-head battle. UMary dropped to 4-19 overall and 2-13 in the NSIC after suffering their fifth straight defeat. UMD, who has one last home matchup on Nov. 16 against Winona State University, captured its eighth sweep of the season and second straight as it closed the weekend homestand going a perfect 2-0. 

The Bulldogs lead wire-to-wire in the first set. The offense erupted for 20 kills and hit a modest .405 in the opening set. The offensive inferno got hotter the following frame. Featuring a 14-0 run in the set, UMD won 25-5 in set two behind a blistering .652 hitting clip with zero attack errors. The five points allowed were the fewest points given up by UMD in a set dating back to Oct. 15, 2021 against Minot State when it won that second set by a score of 25-4 in a straight-set sweep as well. 

The third frame was the tightest set of the day with 13 ties and five lead changes. UMary fought off a pair of match points before the match concluded in historical fashion on the third and final match point of the contest.

Out of substitutions and in extras, the Bulldogs turned to senior defensive specialist Emma Kujawa in the front row. Paired with sophomore middle blocker Paige Decker, the duo combined to turn away and block the Marauder attack on the right pin to put away UMary. Not bad for 5-feet-10 inch, Onalaska, Wis., native on her first-ever collegiate block to secure the victory. 

The Bulldogs finished with 56 kills, the most in a three-set match, and attacked at a .394 clip, the third highest attack percentage posted by UMD this year. In the third-and-final set, the Bulldogs ripped 21 kills, the second most kills in a single set. Senior right side hitter Samantha Paulsen led all players with 18 kills including nine kills alone in just the third frame. Graduate outside hitter Cianna Selbitschka romped 13 kills in the match and hit a solid .333 from the outside pin.

Senior setter Maddi Kealy and freshman setter Ava Jones were both at the forefront of the offense directing traffic for the hitters as the duo combined for 52 assists. Kealy dished out 28 dimes, a match high, and Jones chipped in 18 as the Bulldogs doubled the kill count of the Marauders (56-25). 

A trio of Bulldogs pitched in defensively. Senior outside hitter Payton Addink had her best outing of her career in the back row. The Sun Prairie, Wis., native went 100 percent in serve receive and tallied 16 digs as well. The 16 digs equaled a new season best for Payton as she led all players in the match. Graduate libero Kaylyn Madison was second among all players with 14 digs, one night after taking the fifth slot in the all-time digs leaders in program history. Kealy helped out, tallying 11 digs to go along with her 28 assists, good for her fifth double-double of the season.

UMary hit .083 in the contest, the fifth lowest attacking output this season by the Marauders. UMD corralled 12 blocks against the UMary attack, the most allowed by the Marauders during the 2024 campaign. Behind the stonewall defense was Decker, who rejected a career-high seven total blocks on the night. The Rochester, Minn., native posted and smashed her new career high she recently just set last night against Minot State University. 

The Bulldogs are back in action on Friday, Nov. 8 against Concordia-St. Paul. First serve of that NSIC contest will begin at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, MInn., at 6:00 p.m.