Third-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Defeats USD Women’s Volleyball Team, 3-0
10/6/2007
USD's Ashley Gross recorded nine kills in a 3-0 loss to third-ranked Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday at the DakotaDome.
|
VERMILLION, S.D. – The third-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs extended its North Central Conference winning streak to 24 matches with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-28, 30-19) decision over The University of South Dakota women’s volleyball team on Saturday afternoon at the DakotaDome.
With the victory, UMD improved its overall record to 19-1 and own a 6-0 mark in the NCC. The Coyotes dropped to 17-4 overall and 2-3 in NCC play.
The Coyotes struggled offensively with just 33 kills on 136 attacks for a .110 hitting percentage. USD totaled 29 set assists, 58 digs and five team blocks. Senior Ashley Gross (Norfolk, Neb.) led USD with nine kills and hit .222 for the match. USD also received seven kills from junior Heather Hult (Davis, S.D.), who hit .217. USD also received 24 set assists from sophomore Gina Baldwin (Mitchell, S.D.). Junior libero Amber Kobus (Columbus, Neb.) led USD with 16 digs.
UMD hit .242 for the match with 58 kills on 153 attacks. The Bulldogs also had 52 set assists, 77 digs and five team blocks. UMD's Sarah Wyffels recorded 17 kills and had a match-high hitting percentage of .382. Vicky Braegelman had 15 kills and hit .379.
UMD rolled to a 30-16 win in game one as the Bulldogs hit .170 (16K-7E-53A) while USD struggled with a -.100 percentage (5K-10E-50A). Wyffels had five kills and Kari Wolford added four as UMD opened up an 18-10 lead and cruised to the win.
The Coyotes had its best game of the match in a 30-28 loss to UMD in game two. Led by five kills from Gross, the Coyotes hit .308 with 14 kills on 39 attacks and just two errors. UMD hit .259 with 24 kills on 54 attacks. After trailing early, the Coyotes scored three straight points to pull even at 20-20. The Bulldogs responded with a 9-5 run to grab a 29-25 advantage. However, the Coyotes rallied to within 29-28 before Wolford’s kill ended the game.
UMD, which led from start to finish, continued to hit the ball effectively in winning game three by a 30-19 score. The Bulldogs hit .304 (18K-4E-46A) while USD hit .170 (14K-6E-47A). UMD jumped to a 6-0 lead and had double digit leads several times in the final game.
The Coyotes will be in action on Oct. 13 when they host Wayne State at the DakotaDome.
