Junior middle blocker Paige Decker hit .533 with a season-high 18 kills and added four block assists, but it was not enough as the No. 21 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team fell to Sioux Falls in four sets, 17-25, 27-25, 19-25, 21-25, in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road match at the Stewart Center Saturday afternoon. 

Madeline Guetzkow had 11 kills and three block assists, Brietta Tims contributed nine kills and four digs and Mollie Rupp added eight kills and seven digs. Madison Reed led all players with 20 digs and added six assists, while Ava Jones totaled 45 assists, nine digs, two block assists and a service ace. 

The Bulldogs (17-6, 10-6 NSIC) led the Cougars in kills (58-55), assists (57-53) and digs (52-48), but USF (15-9, 10-6 NSIC) had 17.0 team blocks to 6.0 for the visitors and held the advantage in points, service aces and hitting percentage. 

For the second night in a row, UMD was able to battle back to even the match 1-1 after falling in the first set. It opened set No. 2 on a 6-1 run which included a block and three kills from Guetzkow and a kill and two blocks from Decker. The Cougars managed to even the set, 10-10, but the Bulldogs regained the lead with a kill from Rupp. They extended their lead to four points, 23-19, on a service ace from Georgia Koscielak. USF would not go away, however, as a 3-0 run made it a one-point set, 23-22. A kill from Decker made it set point for the Maroon and Gold, but another 3-0 run gave the Cougars the lead, 24-25. A kill from Tims tied the set once again, before back-to-back kills from Decker gave it to the Bulldogs. Decker hit .700 with seven kills in the set. 

Tims, Rupp and Decker each had four kills in the third set to account for 12 of UMD's 15 total kills. The Bulldogs hit .303 in the set, their highest of the match, but fell down early and were unable to recover.

In the fourth set, Decker and Guetzkow combined for 10 of UMD's 15 kills, with Guetzkow posting a .625 attack percentage in the frame. The two teams were even through the first 26 points, with a kill from Kylie Broten evening the score at 13-13, but a 7-2 run from the Cougars put UMD behind 15-20 and forced a timeout. The Bulldogs pulled within four two more times, but ran out of time for the comeback. 

UMD closes out its regular-season road schedule next weekend when it travels to No. 11 St. Cloud State on Friday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. and to No. 24 Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.