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No. 3 Duluth tops MSU volleyball in three sets

Alex Eisen/MDN Minot State senior middle hitter Hayley Swain attacks the ball between two Minnesota Duluth defenders Saturday afternoon at the MSU Dome.

Life in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference isn’t easy for the Minot State volleyball team.

The Beavers (1-14, 0-6 NSIC) ran into another nationally-ranked opponent Saturday afternoon and were swept in straight sets.

MSU held its own, but No. 3 Minnesota Duluth (13-1, 6-0 NSIC) proved why they are one of the best teams in the country.

The Bulldogs won by set scores of 25-20, 25-19, 25-15.

“This isn’t a team that gets discouraged,” MSU head coach Dana Cordova said about her Beavers. “They understand our schedule and the NSIC. I don’t know how many ranked teams we have played, but it’s been a lot of them. And they just keep coming to practice and keep working. They are in those games, not getting destroyed.”

For Cordova, the final scores don’t tell the full picture.

“Even if you look at some of the scores, if you are there, you see the rallies,” she said. “They may have beat us by seven, but man those seven points they had to earn. That’s nice to see.”

The Beavers had a three-pronged attack going with senior Shelby Spuller (9 kills), freshman Amarrie Welton (8) and senior Hayley Swain (7). MSU finished with a .093 attack percentage.

Sustaining a consistent attack has been a challenge after losing senior Jeanne Brenner with an injury on Tuesday against U-Mary.

“With an injury occurring, you have to change the rotation up a little,” Cordova said. “Now, we have to find our offensive mindset. When we are in system, we are really good. It’s when we are out of system that we make really dumb decisions. A lot of their runs are caused by our errors, especially hitting errors.”

Duluth took advantage and relied on a .275 attack percentage to carry them through the match. Kate Berg racked up a match-high 11 kills for the Bulldogs in the win.

Those kills didn’t come easy with the Beavers showcasing a steady presence at the net. After eight blocks in Friday’s contest against No. 12 St. Cloud State, MSU added six more on Saturday.

“That’s something we have really focused on,” Cordova said. “Timing just has to get a little bit better sometimes. We are getting touches on balls and putting up blocks. But, there is a reason Duluth is ranked third in the country. They’re smart at avoiding it.”

MSU junior libero Karli Koza was also absorbing forceful kill attempts on the back row. She finished with a match-high 21 digs and a highlight-reel sequence that featured three straight diving digs before the Beavers put the ball into the net.

“We know we can compete against anybody,” Koza said. “They are ranked and they are good, but it doesn’t really matter. Anything can happen in a game of volleyball. It’s whoever decides to show up that day.”

MSU is on the road next weekend against Bemidji State (Oct. 11) and Minnesota Crookston (Oct. 12). Two rare NSIC teams that aren’t ranked inside the Top 25 nationally.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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