MINOT, ND – Big performances by
Ally Gruber and
Maddie Cooper rallied the University of Mary to a 5-set road win over Highway 83 rival Minot State University. The duo combined for 30 kills as the Marauders earned their first Northern Sun win of the season.
After opening with a win in the first set, the Marauders trailed 2-1 before rallying to win the last two sets in the 3-2 victory (25-22, 18-25, 11-25, 25-16, 15-11).
Gruber blasted 18 kills on the night, including 11 in the final two sets without an attack error. She hit .277 on the night with only five attack errors in 47 swings. Gruber was also second on the team with 19 digs.
Cooper was unstoppable on offense, hitting a match-high .571. The Marauders middle hitter posted 12 kills on 21 attacks without an error. She also had an ace.
Leading by as many as seven points in the opening set before the Beavers came back to tie the match, the Marauders scored seven of the last 11 points as
Nehkyah Ellis delivered three of her eight kills on the night.
Minot State found its groove in the next two sets to claim a 2-1 lead. UMary regained its setting in the third set, using an 8-2 run to claim an early 10-3 lead. The lead eventually grew to 11 points before the Marauders claimed the set 25-16 to force a deciding 5
th set.
After scoring four straight points to claim a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, the final stanza featured five ties after a Minot State kill by Sydney Upton evened the match at 10-10.
From there it was all Marauders. UMary regained the lead on a service error by Minot State, followed by a pair of kills by Gruber sandwiching an
Alexandria Harper kill for a 14-10 lead. The Beavers managed one more point before Gruber blasted home the final point for the Marauders win.
Kaia Sueker led the Marauders with 21 digs, one of five Marauders in double digits. Ellis added 18 digs and two aces,
Kameron Selvig had 42 assists and 17 digs, and
Chloe Solheid added 10.
Emily Kotelnikoff and Paige Ammerman led the Beavers with 10 kills.
The Marauders remain on the road with a pair of games in Aberdeen, SD. UMary faces Northern State in a non-conference game on Friday, October 13, before playing MSU Moorhead in a neutral site NSIC contest on Saturday, Oct. 14.
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