For the second consecutive match, the University of Minnesota Duluth dropped a five-set heart breaker in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action. The No. 11 Bulldogs won the first two sets, but couldn't hang on and lost to conference foe No. 10 Concordia University, St. Paul (25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 12-15) Saturday in the home opener at Romano Gymnasium.
It was just the second home opening loss in the last 20 years, the first since Wayne State College in 2021.
UMD, which dropped its NSIC opener to Winona State University Thursday, dropped to 7-2 overall and 0-2 in the NSIC. The Golden Bears improved to 6-3 and 1-0 in the NSIC. It was the fourth time in the last six appearances between the two squads that the contest went the full distance.
Mehlayna Straub for Concordia-St. Paul led all players with 17 kills and her teammate Claudia Stahlke posted 15 kills and 13 blocks in the contest. The Golden Bears outhit the Bulldogs .247-.192 for the match and committed a season-high 17 errors at the service line.
Graduate outside hitter Cianna Selbitschka produced her fourth double-double of the season. The North Branch, Minn., native registered a share of team leading 12 kills and 16 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Madeline Guetzkow also collected 12 kills to help the Bulldog attack. Senior right side hitter Samantha Paulsen gathered 11 kills as the third Bulldog to garner double-digit terminations. On the defensive end, Paulsen and sophomore middle blocker Kylie Broten tallied a team-high six blocks while a trio of defenders scooped up double-digit digs. Selbitschka, senior setter Maddi Kealy, who also compiled a double-double adding 27 assists, and graduate libero Kaylyn Madison chipped in with 16, 11, and 19 digs, respectively. For Madison, the 19 digs pushed her one shy of tying Callie Zwettler with 1,265 career digs for tenth all-time in program history.
Before the match, both Selbitschka and Madison were honored for achieving 1,000 career digs since the last Bulldog home match.
The Bulldogs seized an early lead, easily winning the first set that showcased three lead changes before they took over the lead at 13-12. Madison helped produce a 4-0 run in the middle of the frame to keep distance. The Golden Bears hit a match low .147 in the first set and committed seven attack errors and five errors at the service line. The Bulldog hit an effective .290 with Paulsen leading the way early with four kills. The second set was much like the first. UMD seized control at 9-8 and never looked back. Concordia-St. Paul trailed by as much as six and never got within two as the Bulldogs jumped quickly out to a 2-0 lead as it took the second set 25-21. Guetzkow was the focal point of the offense slamming home six kills alone in the second.
UMD saw its bid for a sweep end when Concordia-St. Paul made some adjustments after intermission. The Golden Bears hampered down in the reception game and found more offense while in-system. They found the holes in the Bulldog defense and hit a match high .306 to force a fourth set. The Bulldogs fell 25-19 after they jumped out to an 8-4 lead. That lead evaporated as Concordia-St. Paul grabbed the advantage for good in the third at 10-9 that was knotted up four times before the Golden Bears took over the frame. UMD made its own push in the fourth and nearly came back after trailing most of the set to clinch the victory. Falling behind 20-15, the Bulldogs pounced on an opportunity once the Golden Bears opened the door slightly. A balanced attack that saw six different Bulldog attackers register a kill saw the lead shrink down to 23-22 in the closing points. Concordia-St. Paul did enough to side out enough times to escaped the ferocious comeback.
The decisive fifth set was a disastrous start, sporting the Golden Bears the first five points in a race to 15. The Bulldogs finally got on the board with back-to-back kills by Broten and senior outside hitter Payton Addink. After a few miscues at the service line, sophomore middle blocker Paige Decker and Guetzkow found pay dirt, thumping home their attacks to cut the lead to 8-7. However, a Concordia-St. Paul timeout squashed the run and the Golden Bears pushed the lead back out to 12-9 and proceeded to take the set and victory.
UMD will return on the road to face off against Bemidji State University on Wednesday, Sept. 25. First serve at the BSU Gymnasium is slated to start at 6:00 p.m.
