The University of Minnesota Duluth (4-0, 0-0 NSIC) volleyball team closed out play at the UP North Tournament with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-16) sweep of Tiffin University (0-3, 0-0 G-MAC) Saturday morning at Vandament Arena in Marquette, Mich. The Bulldogs went undefeated in four matches at the tournament.
As a team, UMD hit .389 with 50 kills on 95 attempts, with
Ava Jones orchestrating the offense with 42 assists. The Bulldogs also held advantages over the Dragons in assists (45-29), service aces (4-3) and digs (43-29).
Kenzie Kiminski led all hitters with 12 kills and added eight digs, while
Madeline Guetzkow hit .588 with 10 kills and eight digs.
Brietta Tims contributed 10 kills, seven digs and two service aces, while
Paige Decker added nine kills.
UMD came out firing offensively, hitting .517 in the opening set. Guetzkow led the Bulldogs with five kills on .833 hitting, while
Elyse Karrels, who finished the match with a .833 hitting percentage and five kills, had two kills in the opening frame.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind kills from Decker and Guetzkow and a block from Jones and Decker. UMD eventually extended its advantage to nine points, 21-12, before closing out the set on a 3-0 run.
Tims paced the Bulldogs in the second set, hitting .556 with six kills.
UMD once again opened the set with a 5-1 lead, with
Ella Chandler serving four-straight points during the run. The stretch included two kills from Guetzkow, a kill from Karrels and a service ace. A kill from Jones later gave the Bulldogs a 21-15 advantage. Tiffin pulled within four points at 22-18, but two kills from Kiminski and another from Karrels sealed the set for UMD, 25-19.
Kiminski took over in the third set, recording six kills while hitting .556 and adding three digs and a solo block.
For the third consecutive set, the Bulldogs raced out to a 5-1 lead and maintained control throughout the frame. UMD extended its advantage to seven points, 21-14, during a 6-0 run before closing out the match on a 4-0 run, 25-16.
The Bulldogs return to action Sept. 4-5 at the Royce Cappis Volleyball Tournament, hosted by CSU Pueblo. UMD will face Fort Lewis College, CSU Pueblo, Adelphi and Florida Tech during the tournament.
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