Sophomore outside hitter Xada Johnson had a career day to help the No. 24 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team (9-0, 2-0 NSIC) upset No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State University (8-1, 1-1 NSIC) 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-16) Saturday afternoon in NSIC action at Romano Gymnasium.
 
Johnson had a double-double with career-highs of 13 kills and 18 digs. Junior right side hitter Madeline Guetzkow had a match-high 18 kills, six digs and three total blocks, and fellow junior middle blocker Paige Decker added 11 kills and six total blocks in the top-25 showdown.
 
Sophomore setter Ava Jones matched her career-high with 52 assists for the second-straight match and junior Madison Reed led all players with 21 digs.
 
The Bulldogs outhit the Mustangs, .306-.159 and had 66 kills compared to SMSU's 43 kills. The Maroon and Gold also held the advantage in assists (60-39) and digs (72-60).  
 
The Bulldogs improve to 9-0 for the first time since 2022 and start NSIC play 2-0 for the first time since 2023. It was their first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 8 St. Cloud State, 3-1, on Oct. 12, 2023 and their highest-ranked victory since defeating No. 6 Concordia St. Paul, 3-1, on Nov. 8, 2019.  
 
After dropping the first set 23-25, the Bulldogs bounced back to take an early lead in set two. They maintained a small advantage for most of the set before pulling ahead by four points, 15-11, forcing the Mustangs into a timeout. Jones served up an ace to extend the lead to five and a solo block from Guetzkow pushed it to six, once again forcing the visitors into a timeout at 17-11. The Maroon and Gold capped the 7-1 run with a kill from Johnson to make it 18-11. The Mustangs did not go away quietly, as an 8-4 run shrunk UMD's lead to just two points, 21-19, but the Bulldogs used a 4-2 run to even the match 1-1.
 
It took kills from Johnson, Decker and Guetzkow to give UMD separation from SMSU in the third set, capping a 7-2 run that made the score 13-8 and forced SMSU into a timeout. The timeout did not stop the Bulldogs, however, as they kept coming after the Mustangs. They extended their lead with a 6-3 run to make it 19-11 and used another 6-3 run to close out the set. UMD hit .357 with 18 kills in the third frame, getting five kills and 10 digs from Johnson and four kills from senior middle blocker Kylie Broten.
 
UMD opened the fourth set on a 7-0 run and never relinquished its lead. SMSU would cut the Bulldog's lead to just three points, 18-15, but that is as close as it would come to the home squad as a 7-1 run put the set away. Decker had two kills, two solo blocks and a block assist in the set.
 
UMD concludes its six-match homestand Tuesday, Sept. 23 vs. Bemidji State. The 6 p.m. match will be broadcast live on My9 Sports.