UMD Athletics

Behind a double-double from freshman Kenzie Kiminski, the No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team swept visiting Minot State, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16, in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play Friday night at Romano Gymnasium. The Bulldogs improved to 20-7 on the season and 13-6 in league action with the win, while the Beavers dropped to 5-23 overall and 1-18 in conference play.

Kiminski led all players with 15 kills and 14 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while senior Paige Decker hit .500 with 10 kills and added three block assists. Sophomore Kendra Behrens hit .833 with five kills and three block assists and redshirt sophomore Grace Mueller tallied five kills on .500 hitting with two block assists. 

Junior setter Ava Jones dished out 35 assists to help the Bulldogs notch a .343 team hitting percentage, which included a .500 mark in the opening set. 

As a team, the Maroon and Gold more than doubled Minot State's kills total, notching 46 kills to the Beavers' 22 kills, and also held the advantage in assists (42-21), digs (47-35) and total team blocks (6.0-2.0). It also held the visitors to a .020 hitting percentage in the match.   

UMD jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the opening set, fueled by kills from Kiminski, Behrens and Brooke Aslakson, along with a 5-0 run with Madison Reed serving. Minot State trimmed the deficit to three points, 13-10, but the Bulldogs responded with a 6-2 run, highlighted by a pair of Behrens kills and two Beaver errors, to extend their lead to 19-12. UMD maintained control from there, closing out the set with a 6-3 run that featured three kills from Decker and two from Kiminski. 

Kiminski led the offense with five kills in the opening set, with Decker adding four kills. Jones had six digs and 12 assists. The Bulldogs hit .500 in the frame, while holding the Beavers to a -.040 hitting percentage. 

UMD took a little longer to create separation in the second set, but a 5-0 run with Reed serving gave the Bulldogs a 15-11 lead and forced a Minot State timeout. The Beavers pulled within three points of the Maroon and Gold twice, but kills from Decker, Kiminski and Behrens, along with a Beaver error, helped UMD stretch its advantage to 21-14. Minot State attempted to rally, but back-to-back blocks from the Bulldog defense halted the run and secured the set, giving UMD a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Kiminski added five more kills in the second set, while Mueller contributed five kills and two block assists. Reed had a pair of service aces and two digs.

The Bulldogs grabbed an early advantage in the third set behind three consecutive kills from Kiminski to take a 5-2 lead. Minot State pulled within one point seven times, but a 4-0 UMD run, highlighted by blocks from Decker, Jones and Brietta Tims, extended the Bulldogs' lead to 19-13. The Beavers managed just three more points before UMD closed out the set and secured the sweep with kills from Aslakson and McKenzie Burke, followed by a service ace from Tims. 

Kiminski and Decker each had five kills in the final set, with Kiminski adding seven digs and Julianne Hon posting eight digs. 

The Bulldogs wrap up their regular-season schedule against UMary Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Romano Gymnasium. The Senior Day contest will be broadcast live on My9 Sports.