BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary homecoming week's athletic schedule kicked off Thursday night in a McDowell Activity Center that was packed shoulder to shoulder in a "White Out" volleyball game against Northern State University. Maddie Cooper and Kaia Sueker led the Marauders efforts in front of the electric home crowd, but they ultimately fell short to the Wolves in four sets (25-18, 25-27, 25-12, 25-21).
 
UMary and NSU would trade off the lead early in the first set until the Wolves (13-9, 8-6 NSIC) began to pull away to a comfortable 6-point advantage over the Marauders (3-19, 2-12 NSIC). The Wolves shortly thereafter would clinch the first set of the evening on an attack error at a 25-18 score.
 
The Marauders quickly recovered, looking strong early in the second set. Northern State would rally back and get UMary on the ropes twice with set-point opportunities. However, three straight points for the Marauders on two Wolves errors and a defiant kill by McKenna Kirkpatrick clinched the second set of the night 27-25, this time in favor of UMary.
 
The third set belonged to Northern State after the Wolves gradually built a commanding lead, going on to win 25-12. Again, the Marauders were able to flush the previous set by gaining the first four points in the fourth set and trading off the lead with the Wolves the rest of the way. A pair of late kills by Reyna Isenbart and Robi Binagi pulled the Marauders within two points at 23-21, but the Wolves answered right back with two kills of their own to take the fourth set and the victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
Maddie Cooper once again stood out for the Marauders offensively with 11 kills while hitting 0.290% from the middle of the net. Cooper also gained five total blocks.
 
Kaia Sueker covered a lot of ground defensively with 21 digs. She also added three ace serves, all of which occurred on an impressive 6-point run early in the second set.
 
Robi Binagi hammered down nine kills and Nehkyah Ellis added eight. Ellis also complimented her kill total with eight digs and two ace serves.
 
McKenna Kirkpatrick led the Marauders in total blocks with six on the evening. She also had five kills.
 
Maddy Freed tied her second-highest total of assists on the season with 34 in the defeat.
 
UP NEXT
 
The UMary Volleyball team will rest on Friday before venturing east on I-94 for a road matchup against Minnesota State University Moorhead (6-16, 3-11 NSIC) Saturday at 2 pm. The Dragons are coming off a 3-0 win over Minot State.
 
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