BISMARCK, ND - The University of Mary Volleyball team wrapped up their first home weekend of the 2023 season on Saturday afternoon. Led by a solid day on the attack from Nehkyah Ellis, coupled with a dominating team performance blocking at the net, the Marauders battled nationally 6th-ranked St. Cloud State hard but still succumbed to a three-set defeat (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) to the powerful Huskies.

Nehkyah Ellis set the tone for her day right away with a kill for the match's first point. The Huskies (9-2, 2-0 NSIC) would gain traction early in the opening set with a seven-point run and were able to put away the Marauders (4-6, 0-2 NSIC) 25-17 behind Hannah Bruskiewicz's four kills in set one. 

The Marauders kept fighting in set two, staying hot on the Huskies heels and forcing a timeout in the middle stanza only trailing 15-13. Ellis once again paced the Marauders with 4.0 total points through set two. Despite hitting six attack errors in set two, the Huskies found a way to keep a modest lead on the way to a 25-18 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. 

The Marauders found a way to hang around the #6 Huskies in set three, closing the gap on a pair of five-point runs to keep a close score and capitalize on some long rallies. However, the Huskies once again overcame 7 attack errors as the Marauders fell once again just a point closer 25-19, giving SCSU the match victory. 

The Marauders showed some improvement from Friday night's home opener, notably holding the Huskies to only a 0.153 hitting percentage and dominating at the net with 22 total blocks as a team, 12 more than the Huskies in battles at the net. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Nehkyah Ellis led with 8 kills on a very solid 0.364 hitting percentage. She also had 7 digs, 2 blocks, and an ace serve. 

Alexandria Harper had 4 kills (0.308 hitting percentage) and 4 blocks. 

Ally Gruber had 4 kills, 7 digs, and 2 blocks. 

McKenna Kirkpatrick led with 5 total blocks. 

Kameron Selvig had 16 assists and 2 ace serves. 

UP NEXT
UMary Volleyball will hit the road to northern Minnesota next weekend September 22-23. The Marauders will meet the Bemidji State Beavers (4-6, 1-1 NSIC) on Friday at 6 pm, and then the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (2-8, 0-2 NSIC) next Saturday at 2 pm. 

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