BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary volleyball team welcomed a St. Cloud State University team to town that boasted an undefeated conference play record and the Marauders were on a mission to serve the Huskies their first loss. The Marauders battled until the very end, keeping each match nail bitingly close. The Huskies, fresh off an upset of the nation's #6 team, kept the momentum on their side and took down the Marauders in three sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-20).
 
With the loss the Marauders fall to 3-9 on the season and 0-4 in conference play.
 
The first set was all Huskies at the start of the match, pulling out to the early lead. But it was the Marauders no-quit attitudes that helped UMary work their way back into contention for the set, pulling up 21-19. The Huskies then strung off five straight points to take set number one 25-23.
 
Set two was much closer than the scoreboard indicated, with the teams exchanging point for point all the way up until 16-all. It wasn't until then that the Huskies were able to gain control of the momentum and pull away to take set two 25-18.
 
The Marauders kept the third set close to start but the overpowering momentum the Huskies had on their side after upsetting #6 Minnesota Duluth and winning the first two sets of the match against UMary was just too much for the home team to handle. The Marauders dropped the final set 25-20.
 
A pair of sophomores led the Marauders tonight. Katja Berge is a name all Marauders fans should get to know because she has been putting on a show lately, Berge recorded a team high nine kills to go along with her match-high four blocks. Natalia Cruz added an addition seven kills and led the team with 20 digs.
 
Madison Bergthold and Julianna Hughes added three blocks each which was good enough for a tie for the second most blocks in the game. Hughes also added an impeccable kill percentage of a .571 showing that when given the chance to strike, she will kill.
 
The Marauders aren't done for the week just yet. They will take the court tomorrow against #6 Minnesota Duluth at 2 pm in the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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