The University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team improved to 4-0 on the season after defeating Purdue Northwest 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 25-23) and the University of Missouri-St. Louis 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-19) to conclude play at the McKendree Invitational Saturday afternoon in Lebanon, Ill.
 
"I am super pleased with today," head coach Jim Boos said. "We knew it was going to be a challenge because Purdue Northwest and Missouri-St. Louis returned a lot of their lineups from last year and had a little more experience than we did in big moments. We had adversity in both matches and responded to that adversity and continued to battle, fight and compete like we needed to. Certainly, the finish we had, how well we executed, and how we played offensively - it was a great way to end a good weekend."
 
The Bulldogs hit .315 (103-27-241) on the day, led by senior Kylie Broten's .561 hitting percentage. The middle blocker had 24 kills and six total blocks in the pair of wins. Fellow middle blocker Paige Decker hit .486 with 19 kills and eight total blocks, while right side hitter Madeline Guetzkow notched a .377 attack percentage with a team-best 26 kills, 27 digs and six total blocks.
 
Sophomore setter Ava Jones distributed the ball efficiently with 89 assists, an average of 12.71 per set, with the Bulldogs hitting .468 on her deliveries.  
 
"Any time your team is hitting as well as we did on the weekend, your setter is going to have a lot to do with it," Boos said. "Our ball control is still a work in progress, so we don't always put Ava in the easiest of spots. She obviously did a great job controlling the action and distributed the ball well. She did a heck of a job for us."
 
Guetzkow and freshman Brietta Tims each had double-doubles in the win over the Pride. The junior hit .400 with career-highs of 15 kills and 19 digs, while the rookie had 10 kills and 14 digs to secure the first double-double of her career. Decker had 11 kills and five blocks and Broten hit .409 with 10 kills and four blocks. Also having a career match was Xada Johnson, who notched career-bests with nine kills and 11 digs.
 
Jones dished out 49 assists, one short of her career-high, to go along with nine digs, two blocks, two service aces and a kill.
 
UMD and Purdue Northwest were neck-and-neck through the first 30 points of the first set, sitting in a 15-15 deadlock, but the Bulldogs closed out the set on a 10-5 run to go ahead 1-0.
 
A slow start in the second set put UMD down early 6-2, but it didn't take long for it to respond as a 16-3 run, which included four kills from Tims and a 10-serve run from Jones, put the Maroon and Gold ahead 18-8. The Pride would pull within eight points three times, but that's as close as the Bulldogs would let them get before going up 2-0 in the match. UMD hit an impressive .481 (14-1-27) in the set with only one attack error and added four blocks.
 
After dropping the third set, the Bulldogs bounced back to take the fourth set and the match.
 
UMD ended the tournament with a sweep of UMSL thanks to solid outings from its upperclassmen. Broten hit .737 (14-0-19) with a match-best 14 kills and two blocks, while Guetzkow hit .348 with 11 kills eight digs, three blocks and two service aces. Decker hit .471 with eight kills and three blocks. Jones tallied 40 assists, five digs and two service aces.
 
"In the second match, [Kylie, Madeline and Paige] were super aggressive and super high level, and that's a big reason we were able to get that win in three," Boos said. "Again, Ava has to make those good decisions and give those hitters good opportunities."  

The Bulldogs are set to play at home for the first time in 2025 when they host the Up North Preseason Tournament Sept. 11-13 at Romano Gymnasium. They will play Michigan Tech Thursday at 6 p.m., Adelphi Friday at 6 p.m. and Northern Michigan Saturday at 12 p.m. The matches against Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan will be broadcast on My9 Sports.  
 
Tickets can be purchased online, at the UMD Ticket Office, or by calling (218)726-8595. Tickets can also be purchased at the Romano Gymnasium ticket windows on game day, one (1) hour prior to game time.