The Wayne State volleyball team bounced back from a tough five-set loss and finished the weekend with a sweep in matchups against top 10-ranked conference opponents.
On Friday, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth captured an NSIC volleyball marathon win over No. 11 Wayne State, 25-18, 24-26, 21-25, 25-14, 15-11.
The visiting Bulldogs controlled the first set, hitting .343 with 16 kills while forcing eight WSC errors. The Wildcats trailed a good share of the second set, but forced 11 UMD errors and rallied late to tie the match. Katie Stephens had four kills to pace the Wildcats, who had five players record kills in the set.
Minnesota Duluth built early leads of 9-4 and 14-11 on the Wildcats in the third set, but Wayne State came back to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Tarrin Beller had three kills and three blocks to pace the Wildcats, who forced nine more errors on Duluth in the third set.
The fourth set was close early with six ties and three lead changes, but Duluth closed the set in dominating fashion to force what would be an exciting fifth set.
The fifth set featured 11 ties and seven lead changes, but Wayne State could not overcome stellar hitting by Duluth with 10 kills and just one error in 17 attacks for a .529 percentage as the Bulldogs scored the final four points of the match to take the win.
Beller and Stephens each had 12 kills for the Wildcats. Beller also had seven blocks with Maddie Knobbe and Rachel Walker adding three each. Libero Haley Kauth recorded 17 digs with Hope Carter adding 14 and Walker 11. Walker also handed out 36 set assists.
The Wildcats rebounded nicely on Saturday, as freshman outside hitter Kelsie Cada recorded a team-high 12 kills while the Wildcats recorded 11 blocks and forced 22 attack errors to sweep No. 8 St. Cloud State, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19.
In the first set with the score tied at 9-9, Wayne State took control of the set with five straight points for a 14-9 lead on their way to taking the first set. Jaci Brahmer and Cada each had four kills to lead the Wildcats.
The second set saw two lead changes and six ties and saw both teams make runs. With SCSU leading 13-11, the Wildcats scored five straight points to force a Husky timeout. Wayne State built a 21-15 led, but the Huskies got within 24-22 to force a Wildcat timeout before Brahmer ended the second set with a kill on set point.
Wayne State forced nine attack errors on SCSU in the third set, highlighted by four blocks, as the Wildcats finished the match and claimed the three-game sweep.
Cada paced Wayne State with 12 kills followed by Beller with nine and Brahmer with eight. Brahmer had six blocks with Beller and Walker adding five apiece. Walker handed out 29 set assists while Kauth notched 17 digs with Maddie Duffy adding 15 to go with two service aces.
The Wildcats (17-3, 8-3 NSIC) will be on the road this weekend, visiting Minnesota Crookston Friday at 6 p.m. and Bemidji State Saturday at 1 p.m.
