BISMARCK, ND – A balanced and efficient attack combined with a strong defensive effort carried the University of Mary to a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-13) sweep over instate rival Minot State University in front of a raucous home crowd. Three Marauders had eight or more kills and a trio of players reached double digits in digs in UMary's first home win of the season.
Nehkyah Ellis led the Marauders with nine kills and didn't make an attack error. The senior also chipped in 17 digs.
Maddie Cooper and
Reyna Isenbart both had eight kills. Just like Ellis, neither had an attack error in the match. Cooper finished with a stellar hitting percentage of .533 and Isenbart was close behind at .421.
For the night UMary hit .226, making 36 kills with eight errors on 124 attacks.
The visiting Beavers struggled to maintain an effective attack, hitting .117 with 37 kills and 21 errors on 137 swings.
The Marauders also had an advantage serving, hammering eight aces to two for the Beavers. Both teams has eight service errors.
The first two sets were incredibly tight.
In the opening set, no more than four points ever separated the two teams. Behind three of
Chloe Lieser's game-high five aces on the night, the Marauders grabbed a 16-12 lead. Later a kill by Isenbart gave UMary a 24-20 lead. Minot State climbed within 24-23 before
Emily Torborg terminated the ball for the final point to give UMary the set.
The second set was just as taunt. The Beavers grabbed a 10-6 lead before the Marauders pulled ahead 17-16 on an MSU attack error, UMary's first lead since 6-4.
In an epic set that featured 11 ties and five lead changes, the biggest point of the night was registered by the Marauders defense. With Minot State serving for the win and on the attack, a block by Cooper and
Maddy Freed pulled the Marauders even at 24-24. A Minot State attack error and a perfectly placed kill shot by Cooper captured the second set for UMary 26-24.
The Marauders rolled in the third set, taking a 13-5 lead before scoring the final five points of the night with Lieser delivering two more aces in the last run.
Torborg added six kills and 11 digs for UMary. Lieser added nine digs to her five aces. Freed had 26 assists and two assisted blocks plus eight digs.
Kaia Sueker had a team-best 18 digs for UMary and also dished four assists.
Alexandra Koontz led MSU with 10 kills. She also had 17 digs. Viktoria Sedova paced the Beavers with 21 digs.
The Marauders home stand continues this weekend when UMary hosts the University of Sioux Falls on Friday, Oct. 7, at 6 pm and #8 Southwest Minnesota State University at 2 pm on Saturday, Oct. 8.
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