Box Score Marshall, MN - Allison Adams led a tremendous blocking night by the University of Mary but ninth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State University swept the Marauders 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 26-24) in Northern Sun volleyball.

A freshman middle blocker, Adams had a career-high eight block assists and the Marauders (2-25 overall, 1-16 NSIC) posted 12 team blocks. Two other freshmen also had strong nights at the net as Lauren Boldt added five assisted blocks and Morgan Dake had four. The Mustangs (20-6, 14-3) had five team blocks.

The Marauders needed the strong defensive effort as the offense struggled, totaling just 19 kills on the night to 48 for the Mustangs. Julie Paradine led U-Mary with seven kills. She also had eight digs. Dake picked up four kills and Adams three.

Valerie Lesu had 11 digs to pace the Marauders.

Mary Groth posted a game-high 18 kills for SMSU. Alyssa Taylor had 11 and Brooke Burmeister and Rachel Westby both added nine.

The Mustangs closed out a tight first set on an 11-4 run. That momentum carried over into the second as SMSU jumped out to a 12-3 lead on the way to a 2-0 lead at the break.

U-Mary made a move to extend the match coming out of intermission, taking a 14-9 lead midway through the third set. A kill by Paradine would put the Marauders up 19-15 but the Mustangs would start chipping away. SMSU made a 7-1 run for the lead but three straight points for U-Mary would put the Marauders back on top 23-22. Eventually even at 24-24, the Mustangs took the final two points to claim the sweep.

The Marauders conclude the weekend trip at Minnesota State on Saturday, November 5.

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