Seniors
Madeline Guetzkow and
Paige Decker combined for 27 kills to power the No. 20 University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team to a midweek Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) sweep of Bemidji State, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18, Thursday night at BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minn. Guetzkow led the Bulldogs with 16 kills on .652 hitting and Decker added 11 kills on .625 hitting.
Guetzkow's .652 hitting percentage ties for No. 10 in NCAA Division II this season for a single match on a minimum 20 attempts.
The sweep of the Beavers was the eighth-consecutive sweep for the Bulldogs in 2026 and improves UMD's record to 12-1 overall and 5-0 in NSIC action. It also moves head coach
Jim Boos one victory away from securing win No. 600 for his career. BSU fell to 10-3 overall and 2-3 in league play.
The Maroon and Gold hit .326 with 41 kills in the road match, compared to BSU's .224 hitting percentage with 34 kills. The Bulldogs also held the advantage in assists (38-31), service aces (4-2), digs (40-29) and total team blocks (5-3).
Junior
Ava Jones dished out 34 assists, and added three block assists and a team-high eight digs, while fellow junior
Elyse Karrels led all players with five total blocks. Freshman
Kenzie Kiminski had eight kills and six digs.
Despite falling down by as many as four points, 12-8, early in the first set, the Bulldogs used a 4-0 run behind the serving of
Ella Chandler to even the frame 12-12. They would tie the set two more times before taking a 16-14 lead on a BSU service error and a service ace from Jones. A kill from Decker to make the score 20-18 ignited a 6-1 run to close out the set. Decker and Guetzkow each had four kills in the set.
UMD posted a .556 hitting percentage in the second set to go ahead 2-0 in the match, paced by a perfect 9-for-9 performance from Guetzkow. An 11-3 run midway through the set was the difference for the Bulldogs, giving them a 15-9 lead. The Beavers would only be able to pull within five points of UMD before they ran out of time.
Kiminski led the Maroon and Gold in set three with four kills, with Guetzkow and Decker each contributing three. Decker served the Bulldogs to a 5-0 run which put them ahead 9-3 early on.
Brietta Tims followed with a 5-0 serving run to put UMD ahead 16-8. The closest the Beavers would come to catching the Bulldogs was six points before the Maroon and Gold put it away.
UMD returns home to Romano Gymnasium Saturday for a NSIC matchup with Minnesota Crookston. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
