Behind 14 kills and six blocks from senior
Paige Decker, the No. 20 University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team swept No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21, in Northern Sun Intercollegiate (NSIC) action Friday night at Romano Gymnasium. The Bulldogs improved to 17-5 on the season and 10-4 in league play with the win, while the Mustangs dropped to 17-4 overall and 11-3 in conference action.
UMD snapped SMSU's six-match winning streak and its own four-match losing skid in the effort, while holding the NCAA kills and assists leaders to 38 kills on .145 hitting and 35 assists. The Maroon and Gold totaled 53 kills on .286 hitting, while adding 48 assists, 58 digs and 8.5 total team blocks.
Decker led a foursome of Bulldogs with double-digit kills totals, with
Xada Johnson posting 12 kills,
Kenzie Kiminski contributing a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs and
Madeline Guetzkow adding 10 kills and seven digs.
Ava Jones secured her third-straight double-double, and seventh of the season, with 40 assists and a match-high 14 digs. She also had a career-high five kills and two block assists.
The two teams traded points through the opening 20 points before the Bulldogs pulled ahead 14-11 on a Guetzkow kill. UMD extended its lead to 22-16, but back-to-back points from the Mustangs cut the margin to four and forced a Bulldogs timeout at 22-18. Two more points from SMSU brought the visitors within two, 22-20, prompting head coach
Jim Boos to use his second timeout of the set.
Back-to-back kills from Jones and Guetzkow gave UMD set point at 24-20, but SMSU responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead. Guetzkow ended the run with a kill to even the score before a service ace from
Karsyn Winchell put the Bulldogs back in front. An SMSU attack error then sealed the set for UMD. Guetzkow led the Bulldogs with five kills in the opening frame.
The Bulldogs created separation in the second set with a 5-0 run capped by back-to-back service aces from
Georgia Koscielak, giving UMD an 11-6 lead. The Mustangs eventually cut the deficit to one, 13-12, but four kills from Decker helped the Bulldogs rebuild their advantage to 19-15. A Guetzkow kill pushed UMD's lead to 23-19, and a Mustang attack error gave the Bulldogs set point. Kiminski finished the frame with a kill to put UMD ahead 2-0 in the match.
Decker led the way with seven kills on .875 hitting and three total blocks in the second set, as the Bulldogs hit .325 as a team.
After falling behind 7-3 to open the third set, UMD responded with a 9-0 run sparked by a Kiminski kill to take a 12-7 lead. The Bulldogs continued to build their advantage, extending the margin to 20-11, but the Mustangs mounted a late rally to pull within three points at 24-21. Guetzkow ended the comeback attempt with a kill to secure the set and complete the sweep for UMD.
Decker and Johnson each had five kills in the final set, while
Julianne Hon added eight of her nine total digs in the third stanza.
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday afternoon to face Sioux Falls at 2 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium.
