Senior Paige Decker hit .449 with 27 kills and six total blocks to lead the University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team to a non-conference split Friday at the Royce Cappis Invitational at Massari Arena in Pueblo, Colo. The Bulldogs (5-1, 0-0 NSIC) swept host CSU-Pueblo, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19), in their second match of the day after suffering their first loss of the season to Fort Lewis, 3-1 (26-28, 26-24, 22-25, 18-25).
Match 2 at CSU-Pueblo
The Bulldogs handed the ThunderWolves (2-4, 0-0 RMAC) their first home loss since Oct. 4, 2024, behind a dominant offensive performance from their middle blockers. Decker hit .478 with a match-high 14 kills, while Elyse Karrels hit .750 with nine kills and no attack errors.
Xada Johnson added a season-high eight kills, while Madeline Guetzkow recorded eight kills, three service aces and a match-high 11 digs. Ava Jones orchestrated the offense with 37 assists. She is now just 90 assists away from reaching 2,000 assists for her career.Â
UMD outhit CSU-Pueblo .315 to .131 and held advantages in kills (48-24), assists (40-22), service aces (9-6) and digs (39-32). The teams each recorded 5.0 total blocks.
The Bulldogs and ThunderWolves traded leads twice and tied three times in the opening set before UMD took control. After Kenzie Kiminski's kill gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead, the Maroon and Gold never trailed again.
UMD jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set and never looked back, while the Bulldogs opened the third frame with a 7-0 run behind the serving of Madison Reed to set the tone for the final set.
Johnson recorded six of her eight kills in the second set as UMD hit .484 as a team, totaling 18 kills with just three attack errors. Decker then led the Bulldogs in the third set with five kills as UMD hit .429 with 13 kills and just one attack error.
Match 1 vs. Fort Lewis
Despite suffering its first loss of the season, UMD had three players reach double figures in kills against the Skyhawks (2-3, 0-0 RMAC). Decker led the Bulldogs with 13 kills, while Guetzkow posted her fourth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs. Kiminski added 10 kills for her fourth double-figure kills performance of the season.
Brietta Tims contributed nine kills, nine digs and two service aces, while Karrels added eight kills and four total blocks.
Jones recorded her first double-double of the season with 38 assists and a team-high 14 digs.
The Bulldogs held an 18-15 lead midway through the opening set following kills from Guetzkow and Tims, but Fort Lewis responded with a 6-0 run to take a 21-18 advantage. UMD answered with a kill and service ace from Tims and a kill from Kiminski to tie the set at 21-21.
The teams then traded 3-0 runs to reach a 24-24 tie. Back-to-back kills from Kiminski and Guetzkow put the Bulldogs ahead 26-25, but the Skyhawks scored the next three points to take the opening set.
UMD bounced back to claim the second set behind five kills from Guetzkow. The teams stayed within two points of one another throughout the frame, trading the lead six times and tying the score 16 times. A solo block from Jones followed by a Fort Lewis attack error gave the Bulldogs the 26-24 victory and evened the match at one set apiece.
The Skyhawks, however, took the next two sets to hand UMD its first loss of the 2026 season.
The Bulldogs conclude play at the Royce Cappis Invitational Saturday with matches against Adelphi at 9 a.m. CST and Florida Tech at 3:45 p.m. CST.
