The No. 13 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team dropped its road match at No. 23 Northern State, 3-0 (17-25, 17-25, 13-25), Friday night in Aberdeen, S.D. The Bulldogs fell to 13-2 on the season and 6-2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play, while the Wolves moved to 12-4 overall and 4-4 in league action.
 
Sophomore Xada Johnson led UMD with 10 kills and two total blocks, while freshman Mollie Rupp and senior Kylie Broten added six kills and five kills, respectively. Sophomore Ava Jones had 26 assists, two service aces and two kills, and Madison Reed led the Bulldogs with eight digs.  
 
As a team, UMD hit .176 with 32 kills, four service aces, 20 digs and 3.0 total blocks. The Wolves hit .514 with 43 kills, seven service aces, 32 digs and 5.0 team blocks.
 
The two squads were even through the first 14 points of the opening set, but a 4-0 run from the home team put the Bulldogs in a hole from which they were not able to dig. They pulled within one point on a block assist from Johnson and Georgia Koscielak and a service ace from Jones, but NSU answered back with a 5-1 run to extend its lead back to five points, 11-16. The closest the Bulldogs could get was four points, 16-20, before the Wolves closed out the set with another 5-1 run. Johnson had five kills in the frame.
 
UMD came back from a four-point deficit to pull within two points of Northern State, 10-12, near the midway point of the second set thanks to a Broten kill, but a 6-2 run from the home team put a stop to the Bulldogs' momentum and set them back, 12-18. A block from Kendra Behrens and Rupp cut the lead to three and forced the Wolves to take a timeout at 16-19, but they came out with a 6-1 run to head into the break with a 2-1 lead in the match. Broten and Johnson each had four kills to pace the visitors.
 
The Maroon and Gold hung around within four points of Northern State through the first 28 points of the third set, 12-16, before the Wolves used a 9-1 run to seal the win. Behrens and Rupp led the visitors with three kills apiece.   
 
The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at Jamestown.