BY SAM GAZZOLA | The Statesman The game:
UMD improved their record to 21-7 overall and 14-5 in the NSIC after defeating MSU-Moorhead 3-1.
The Bulldogs began slower than they planned, losing the opening set 25-22. However they only got better as the night went on. UMD dominated the second set, winning 25-11. The Dragons finished game two with a -.049 hitting percentage. Sets three and four were won by the Bulldogs by scores of 25-16 and 25-18 respectively.
UMD was lead offensively by senior outside hitter Mariah Scharf, who earned 19 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Scharf was named to the All-NSIC team earlier this week.
The takeaway:
The win against the Dragons was the fifth straight for UMD. This stretch has kept home court advantage as a possibility for the Bulldogs in the postseason. UMD will close out their regular season tomorrow against No. 3 Northern State University.
The numbers:
66- As a team UMD racked up 66 kills, a number they have only bested four times this season. The top hitters for the Bulldogs were Scharf (19 kills), junior Taylor Wissbroecker (14 kills) and freshman Sarah Kelly (12 kills).
60- Senior setter Ashley Hinsch tallied 60 assists throughout the match. She fell just one shy of her season best of 61, which came in a five-set match against the University of Tampa in September.
2- The Bulldogs committed just two errors in each of the final two sets. UMD finished with just 13 errors total, one of their most efficient matches of the season.
Wait … What?
After losing the first four points of the match and the first set, UMD dramatically improved their play. In the second set they won seven of the first ten points and closed the game out by going on a 10-1 stretch to even the match. Had the Bulldogs not dropped a set, it would have been their fifteenth sweep of the season, and fifth in a row.