#14 BULLDOGS PERFECT IN NORTH DAKOTA AFTER KNOCKING OFF MARY – UMD Athletics

Bismarck, N.D. –  The #14 UMD volleyball staff completed out their weekend journey to North Dakota with a sweep, beating Mary 3-0 after having overwhelmed Minot State in straight units on Friday. The Bulldogs now have a 2-0 NSIC report to pair with a 10-0 report total to start out the 12 months.

Early in set one, it appeared just like the Bulldogs’ goal of getting out of the weekend with goose eggs on the appropriate sides of all of their data was in jeopardy. Mary jumped to a 6-3 lead, forcing UMD to mount a little bit of a comeback- one thing that had been completely alien to them on Friday. The Bulldogs had been already doing one thing at a a lot larger clip right here than they’d been in opposition to the Beavers: getting in their very own approach. Three of the six early Marauders factors got here off of a mix of two errors and a foul set. In equity to Mary, they performed a large function in inflicting these sorts of errors with their sturdy, never-say-die protection. These early struggles by the Bulldogs ended up being a microcosm of an issue head coach Jim Boos gave the Marauders a number of credit score for inflicting inside his staff all through the match. It was an effort that left UMD with six extra attacking errors than Mary by the top of the match (18 in comparison with 12) when the Bulldogs had been coming off a match in opposition to Minot State the place the Beavers had had 17 extra (26 in comparison with 9 for UMD). 

“Tonight, Mary did a very nice job of creating it tough,” Boos mentioned. “They made a number of defensive performs and turned factors into some scrambling conditions, and I give them a number of credit score for making it a tough go when it comes to the place we needed to be from an effectivity standpoint.”

It was Sydney Lanoue that spark plugged a Bulldog effort to dig themselves out of this early grave on this set, as she registered a kill and a service ace en path to her staff tying issues up at 7-7. After breaking the seal off of a 9-9 tie by the use of a Cianna Selbitschka kill, the Bulldogs took the lead and by no means appeared again. The Marauders saved it shut till their rating bought caught at 11 for just a bit too lengthy, permitting UMD to take a 16-11 lead. Then the Marauders bought caught on 12 for even longer till the Bulldog lead was at 10 with a rating of 22-12. Two straight Selbitschka kills had made it 19-12, and a timeout at that time by Mary’s second-year head coach Abby Pollart had achieved little to dim the hearth. When it was all mentioned and achieved, the Bulldogs had taken the set 25-14. Selbitschka was a marvel on this first set, registering a team-high seven kills on a .700 hitting share. Madison Gordon was as dependable as ever as a setter, incomes 17 assists. 

The second set began with a dramatically totally different tempo from the Bulldogs. This time, they jumped out to a 9-2 lead of their very own. This run included three-straight Bulldogs kills by three totally different gamers and was later e-book ended by a Kaylyn Madison service ace and two extra kills. The early Bulldogs lead capped at 10-3 – then, shortly, it began to fade away. Very quickly, the rating was 12-9, and Boos was pressured to name his first timeout of the match. The Bulldogs had been dealing with the identical problem that had as soon as left them down 6-3 and in want of a spark earlier: they had been getting their cash’s value in opposition to the Marauders protection. 5 of the Marauders’ factors on this 6-2 run had come off of Bulldog errors. Just one had been scored by the use of a Mary kill. UMD needed to buckle down in the event that they needed to protect their lead, and to their credit score, that is precisely what they did. For the remainder of the set after the 12-9 timeout, the Bulldogs dedicated simply three errors of any form. UMD soared to a 21-11 lead out of the break and ultimately closed the set at 25-17. Samantha Paulsen and Hope Schjenken got here up massive throughout this set for a squad that wanted gamers to step up within the midst of error troubles. Paulsen had 5 kills on a .714 hitting share whereas Schjenken had 4 on a .571 share.

The third set adopted the same formulation to the second set. Rating-wise, the size was smaller. UMD’s early lead solely rose to 7-3. Error sensible, the size was sadly the very same. The Marauders had been capable of parlay 5 extra UMD errors right into a rating of 9-8 Bulldogs and a combating probability at a comeback. Right here, it appeared the Bulldogs had been bored with messing round. They hit a killswitch, racking up six kills to crank the rating all the best way to 16-9 and the lead all the best way to seven. Grace Daak had three kills alone on this stretch, whereas Selbitschka contributed two extra. The Marauders would proceed to battle and keep in rallies for the remainder of the set. At one level, they’d deliver their deficit right down to as little as 4 with a rating of 21-17. Sadly for them, they had been by no means capable of totally recuperate from the sooner kill bathe. The Bulldogs ultimately closed out the set 25-19 and gained the match 3-0. 

This marked yet one more match through which 4 Bulldogs recorded double-digit kills. Paulsen led the best way with 13 and a noteworthy .571 hitting share. Selbitschka was proper behind her with 12 kills and a .333 hitting share of her personal. Lanoue completed third in a good race with 11 kills. Daak had ten kills on the evening with a .471 hitting share. 

The offensive mastermind working behind the scenes of all of it as soon as once more was Gordon, who closed the evening with 46 complete assists. Boos’ feedback on Gordon’s efforts drew comparability to a different sport through which UMD followers had rooting curiosity this Saturday.

“”That is the quarterback place in our sport, so they are going to dictate your success and failures much more typically than another particular person on the ground,” Boos mentioned. “Our means to be environment friendly from an offensive standpoint many instances can hinge on (Gordon’s) means to run the offense. There’s a number of instances this season the place she’s achieved a very nice job of that.”

As if all of this wasn’t sufficient, Gordon was capable of place a cherry on high of the day by recording six digs over the course of the match to go away her at precisely 500 digs for her profession. 

Talking of digs, the Bulldogs had been led on this regard by Lanoue, who had 19. Schjenken had the team-high in blocks with three complete.

Mary’s offense was led by Nehkyah Ellis’ six kills. Maddy Freed and Kameron Selvig every had eight assists to tie for the staff lead. Reyna Isenbart topped the staff with three complete blocks, and Kaia Sueker had a team-high 12 digs.

BITS FROM BOOS:
A significant level of dialog with Boos post-game surrounded a vital side of sports activities that goes past their X’s and O’s: crowd environment. Regardless of a tricky loss, Boos gave the Mary trustworthy a number of credit score for offering a positive atmosphere for the Marauders all through the match. 

“Clearly it is their house opener, and we knew they had been going to deliver power,” Boos mentioned. “That they had a pleasant crowd there that was definitely loud at instances after they had been making their runs. It is a good precursor of the issues we all know we will face all year long within the Northern Solar.”

What sorts of issues can that environment generate for a house squad? Boos thinks the ability stage can typically be equal to the actions of the gamers on the court docket themselves.

“I believe volleyball is such a momentum-driven sport,” Boos mentioned. “That power can function a spark, identical to an enormous block, massive dig, massive kill, all these issues can function a spark to get you rolling issues within the different route… It is at all times going to make it more difficult as a result of it turns your error or your mistake or their good play and simply amplifies it a little bit bit extra.”

All of this won’t have resulted in a win for the Marauders on this present day, however it definitely did not damage their probabilities. Boos is wanting ahead to seeing his staff get a shot of their very own at taking part in in this type of local weather for the primary time all season subsequent weekend.

“Definitely as we come house right here for the following two weekends, we’re excited to have that on our facet and to be within the pleasant confines of Romano Gymnasium,” Boos mentioned.

UP NEXT:
The Bulldogs will take pleasure in some home-cooking for the primary time all season subsequent weekend after they settle into Duluth for a pair of matches in opposition to NSIC foes. UMD’s house opener comes in opposition to Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday, September sixteenth at 6:00 PM. The Bulldogs will shut out their staycation weekend with a match in opposition to Northern State on Saturday, September seventeenth at 2:00 PM.