BISMARCK, N.D. - Facing their second top 25 ranked team in as many weeks, the University of Mary Volleyball team opened up the conference schedule with a home match against #22 Northern State University.
 
The Marauders (5-5, 0-1 NSIC) had great energy in the first set but couldn't maintain it through the rest of the match as they fell to the Wolves (9-0, 1-0 NSIC) in straight sets.
 
U-Mary had the offense in gear early in the first set with a 5-2 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Alexis Jacobs and Thayna Silva. The Wolves eventually tied the set up at 7-7, but the Marauders kept the pace going and capitalized off a Northern State attack error and a team block from Rachel Astrup and Janell Finkbeiner to go up 9-7.
 
Northern State put a stop to U-Mary's momentum, however, with a 5-1 run to swing the lead back into their favor at 12-10 and eventually wore down the Marauder attack as they built up a 19-15 lead. The Marauders fought back to tie it at 20-20 thanks to two Jacobs kills, a team block from Jacobs and Paige Smith, a Katelyn Olson service ace, and a Northern State attack error.
 
The Wolves put a stop to any comeback, though, as they rattled off five of the next six points and handed U-Mary a 25-21 first set loss.
 
U-Mary struggled early in the second set as Northern State jumped out to a commanding 8-1 lead, but the Marauders climbed back within three points as the Wolves held a 12-9 lead midway through. The Marauders narrowed Northern State's lead to 18-16 thanks to an all-around effort from Thayna Silva who fired off a kill and paired up with Astrup for a team block as part of three straight points, but the Wolves would not surrender the lead as they cruised through the end of the set and handed the Marauders a 25-19 second set loss.
 
The Marauders recaptured some of that energy from the first set as they jumped out to an early 7-4 lead in the third set of the match, but Northern State whittled the lead down to 9-8 and eventually took over with a 5-1 run to put U-Mary in a 13-10 hole midway through.
 
U-Mary stayed within two points with the Wolves holding a 16-14 lead, but Northern State found a rhythm and scored eight of the next nine points to put the Marauders on the brink at 24-15. The Marauders had one last chance at a comeback off a bat set from Northern State, but couldn't capitalize as the Wolves ended the match on a final kill to hand U-Mary a 25-16 loss in the third set and dropped them back down to .500 on the season.
 
Silva led the offense as she finished with 11 kills and only one attack error for a .323 hitting percentage. She also added seven digs and one block assist.
 
Jacobs also recorded her fourth straight game of double digit kills with 10 and also added seven digs, three block assists, and a service ace.
 
Finkbeiner and Olson split time driving the offense as Finkbeiner finished with 13 assists, two digs and a block assist, while Olson finished with 15 assists, two service aces and two digs.
 
The Marauders will pay a visit to Moorhead, Minn., on Saturday, September 19, where they will take on Minnesota State University Moorhead to continue their conference schedule.
 
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