The University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team (2-0) kicked off the 2025 season with a pair of wins at the McKendree Invitational Friday night in Lebanon, Ill. The Bulldogs notched a season-opening 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-16) victory over Southwest Oklahoma State University, before knocking off host McKendree 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-19) in the nightcap.  
 
The season-opening win was the fifth-straight for the Bulldogs and improved their record to 34-2 all-time in season-opening matches.
 
Rookie outside hitter Brietta Tims was impressive in her first outings as a Bulldog, as she totaled 27 kills, 13 digs and five service aces in the pair of contests. Also making their collegiate debuts for UMD were Karsyn Winchell, Mollie Rupp, Georgia Koscielak and Julianne Hon.
 
"These were two good team wins, but from an individual standpoint, Brietta certainly had a nice offensive day," head coach Jim Boos said. "She was a difference-maker for us, especially in the first match. The serving run that she went on really allowed us to separate in that third set. Looking at her kill numbers and her hitting percentage numbers for a rookie, first time on a collegiate court, you can't be too upset with how she played today."
 
In her debut match vs. SWOSU, Tims hit .226 with 12 kills, seven digs and five service aces. Junior right side hitter Madeline Guetzkow notched a double-double with 12 kills, 12 digs, and five total blocks, while senior middle blocker Kylie Broten hit .632 with a team-best 13 kills and six block assists. Junior middle blocker Paige Decker had nine kills and Rupp added eight kills and three digs.  
 
Sophomore setter Ava Jones dished out a career-high 50 assists, while also contributing six digs, four aces, two kills and two blocks. Junior Madison Reed made her first start at libero and notched a career-best 23 digs.  
 
The Bulldogs had 58 kills and 11 service aces in the match, while outhitting the Dawgs, .286-.154.
 
In the nightcap vs. the host Wildcats, Tims hit .462 with a match-high 15 kills and six digs. Broten hit .533 with nine kills, and Decker and sophomore outside hitter Xada Johnson each added eight kills. Guetzkow led the Bulldogs with nine digs. Jones had 41 assists, three kills and three digs.
 
As a team, UMD hit .391 to McKendree's .172 and had seven service aces.
 
The Bulldogs trailed 9-13 in the first set, but a 7-1 run gave the visitors a 15-14 lead. The two squads would knot up the set four more time before a Guetzkow kill would start an 8-3 run to close out the set and put UMD ahead for good.  
 
It was all UMD from the start in the second set, as an early 6-1 run set the pace for the 10-point win. McKendree would pull within two points, 16-14, but the Bulldogs once again closed out the match on a solid 9-2 run that included four kills from Tims.  
It took the squad a little longer to pull away in the third set, as the Dawgs pulled within one point of UMD, 14-13, mid-set, but, a 6-0 run, thanks to two kills each from Broten and Johnson put the good guys up 20-13 and let them cruise to their second-straight win.
 
"I'm really pleased with our start," Boos said. "Tomorrow we have two matches against a couple teams that are a little more veteran-led than the teams we played today, so I think we will have our hands full. But, I think it will be a good challenge on Day Two before we head home."
 
The Bulldogs close out play at the McKendree Invitational Saturday with matches against Purdue Northwest at 11:30 a.m. and against University of Missouri-St. Louis at 4:30 p.m.