The University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team took care of business last week. They continued their run of sweeping opponents. With sweeps over the University of Mary on Friday night and Minot State Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs now have three consecutive sweeps and 12 overall. After a Winona State loss this weekend, there is a three-way tie atop the NSIC between the No. 3-ranked Bulldogs, Southwest Minnesota State and Winona.
In the two games, the Bulldogs won their matches by an average of 32 points and each set by 14.3 points. By holding the Marauders and Beavers to a total of 41 kills and a combined hitting percentage of .071, the Bulldogs dominated the play at the net.
The Marauders were overmatched by Kalli Lochner. Lochner led the Bulldogs with 14 kills and was nearly flawless.
In fact, the senior middle blocker has been effective all season. She is currently 11th in the nation in Division II with a hitting percentage of .392.
The serving of the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Beavers on Sunday. UMD had nine serving aces in the win. Samantha Hertaus led the team with four aces, with back-to-back aces both coming in the second set. Julie Rainey was a close second with three aces of her own.
The Bulldogs will continue with the long road trip this weekend. The Bulldogs will head down to Augustana and Wayne State before returning home Tuesday to face St. Cloud State.
BY EVAN SMEGAL smega001@d.umn.edu