st. Paul, minn. - the golden bear volleyball team secured its 7th consecutive northern sun intercollegiate conference (nsic) title on saturday evening with a win over msu moorhead (20-10, 10-7 nsic) to go up 19-0 on the league schedule (30-0 overall). Senior rightside hitter sadie kessler (st. Michael, minn.) surpassed the 1,000 kill mark of her career in the 3-0 win, as well, finishing the night with 11 kills. The team finishes up the regular season slate at st. Cloud state next saturday. box score
the dragons of msum had a defense that lengthened many rallies and made the gangelhoff center fans appreciate the night's action. The golden bears took the match with healthy leads of 25-11, 25-11, 25-12, but the matchup proved to be much tighter when viewed in person.
blocking was a sticking point for both squads. The box score shows seven team blocks for msum and six for cu, but the additional touches that slowed down attacks were plentiful and added to the excitement of the evening. The golden bears took the edge in the match by winning the long rallies and never allowing the dragons a run.
emily palkert (mh, jr., excelsior, minn.) finished the evening as the golden bear's leading hitter with 12 kills and just a single error for a .458 hitting average. She also had her hand in three of the team's six blocks on the night. Kessler followed with 11 kills, eight digs and four assists in the match that will forever leave her in the cu career book as a member of the 1,000 kill club. The golden bears walked away with a .284 hitting average and held their opponent to a negative figure (-.019) for the second straight match. They lead the nsic in opponent hitting average, holding teams to a combined .118 average on the season (ncaa does not track this stat).
mary slinger (faribault, minn.) was the golden bear defensive leader with 18 digs on the night. She senior libero made a number of jaw-dropping saves to entice the crowd of 610 in the final regular season match at the gangelhoff center. megan carlson (oh, so., andover, minn.) also finished in double figures for digs with 11. The team's defense eventually wore down the dragon hitters and was the difference in the match. They led msum 54 digs to 35.
the dragons were led by laura tvrdik with eight kills. Kristen kleven was a force at the net with five block assists. The dragon digs leader was libero katy ness with 12.
