UMD's Taylor Wissbroecker delivered one of her 14 kills against Northern State. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Emerging star Makenzie Morgen hammered a kill through Northern's defense, while UMD teammates Allison Olley (13) and setter Emily Torve watched. Photo credit: John Gilbert

UMD freshman Riley Tufte (27) and Dom Toninato attacked the Notre Dame net. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Parity seems to be the word in college football, and college hockey. It is in volleyball, too, if you’re talking the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, but UMD’s volleyball team is establishing its own amazing parity within the team.
The Bulldogs swept St. Cloud State 25-15, 25-12, 25-15 Tuesday night for their 20th straight victory in a 20-0 season. The fact that no other team in Division II is undefeated makes it a foregone conclusion that UMD remains the No. 1 team in the nation. Concordia, which UMD displaced as No. 1 a month ago, felt the sting of NSIC parity last weekend, losing to Southwest Minnesota State – the team that displaced Concordia as No. 2 in the nation behind UMD.
If you need more evidence, consider that UMD is ranked fourth in the nation in kill percentage. “Concordia, Southwest Minnesota, and Nebraska-Kearney are 1-2-3,” said UMD coach Jim Boos. “And we’re fourth.”
One of the intriguing things about the Bulldogs is they seem comparatively anonymous, because of the great balance in their lineup. “There’s no question, we’re five attackers strong,” said Boos. It doesn’t matter, but it seems that different players rise up to lead the team in kills, relieving the pressure on Sydnie Mauch, who was the top returning gun.
Senior Taylor Wissbroecker sophomores Makenzie Morgen and Sarah Kelly are three comparative unknowns before this season, and have taken their turns with the hot hand. But it’s more than just hitting. Sophomore Erin Schindler is vital in the back row, leading the team in digs, and freshman Emily Torve has been superb as setter, winning her second NSIC setter of the week award for last weekend’s performance.
Boos, consumed with preparing for every foe, acknowledged that “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about how to defend against our team.”
Last Friday, Wissbroecker led UMD with 14 kills and Makenzie had 12, and the same two led the way Saturday, with Wissbroecker notching 15 and Makenzie 12, while Kelly had 11. Torve had 44 assists Friday and 33 more on Saturday, while Schindler followed up her 11 digs Friday with 13 more Saturday. She got help from Makenzie, who had 10 digs against Northern State. Tuesday, Morgen led with 11 kills while Allison Olley had 10 and Kelly 8. Torve had 37 assists and Schindley had 14 digs.    
This weekend, UMD heads to Wayne State and Augustana, then, while other sports are still in midseason, the Bulldogs return home for the final homestand of the regular season – Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State next weekend, and Concordia and MSU-Mankato on Nov. 4-5.

Hockey Rises To NO. 2

The women’s hockey team returns home to face Bemidji State at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday, which makes way for the UMD men’s hockey team to play the U.S. Under-18 Development team Saturday night at AMSOIL. The Bulldog men had a typical series against Notre Dame last weekend, winning 4-3 before losing 3-1 in Saturday night’s rematch.
The Bulldogs got a look at their third of three goaltenders, when Hunter Shepard, former Grand Rapids star, made his debut and played well, except for  a one-minute span five minutes into the third period. Both teams played fast, quick-countering hockey, and both are ranked high with good reason.
Notre Dame gained the split because of a cluster of Minnesota players on the Fighting Irish roster, including four from Edina. Left wing Dylan Malmquist, who plays alongside center Connor Hurley, are both Edina grads, as are Ben Ostlie and Bo Brauer, two more forward regulars. Defensemen Jordan Gross from Maple Grove and Tony Bretzman of Mendota Heights also are regulars for coach Jeff Jackson.
After Adam Johnson staked UMD to a 1-0 lead in the first period, Malmquist fed Andrew Oglevie for a power-play goal and a 1-1 tie. In the third period, Shepard’s tough minute came when Jordan Gross took a feed from Malmquist and scored form center point at 5:01. Malmquist drilled a screened shot from out near the blueline at 5:56 to make it 3-1.
The Irish, who outshot UMD 38-28, held the Bulldogs off the board the rest of the way and Malmquist was named the game’s outstanding player. “We love those Minnesota kids, and we’ve always had some good ones,” said Jackson, who was relaxed after the game. Notre Dame could take its time riding a bus to the airport for a charter flight home to South Bend, Ind. I asked Jeff what time the charter was scheduled to leave, and he said, “As soon as we get there.”
UMD fans got their first look at Riley Tufte, the giant 6-foot-5 freshman from Blaine, who didn’t score but showed his talent with his moves around the net, earning a spot on the power play as the game went along.
The UMD women’s hockey team didn’t win, but did continue to play impressively, falling 4-3 at Minnesota Friday, and losing 3-2 in overtime to the Gophers Saturday. The first game was 3-3 after two, with Ashleigh Brykaliuk notching her fifth goal of the season to gain the tie, before the Gophers won it with a third-period goal. Lara Stalder scored both goals in the second game,  her fifth and sixth tallies of the young season, staking UMD to a 2-1 lead. The Gophers scored a power-play goal in the third period to tie it, then Sarah Potomak scored with a minute to go in overtime and the Gophers won 3-2.
Coming oh-so-close may be frustrating to the Bulldogs, but they don’t have time to think about it, because Bemidji State, which comes to AMSOIL for Friday night and Saturday afternoon games with UMD, did find the way to beat the Gophers in a 2-0 second game for a split a week earlier.

Saints slip on the grid

St. Scholastica’s football team had been automatic in dominating the MAC. If it’s Saturday, quarterback Kyle Stepka must be filling the air with passes and the Saints scoresheet with touchdowns.
But last Saturday afternoon, at homecoming, the Saints were upended by Northwestern 14-7 at Public Schools Stadium, and it happened for one irrevocable reason: Kyle Stepka was 20-40 for 199 yards, but four of his passes were intercepted by Northwestern. And two of those interceptions led directly to Eagles touchdowns in the second quarter, which was all that was required to bring down the Saints.
It was an interesting duel between Stepka and Corban Halbur, his Northwestern counterpart, and another between star receivers. Halbur was 19-33 passing for 262 yards. Seven of those receptions were by Cody Carlson, for 122 yards,, while Aaron Olson caught eight passes for 121 yards. Each caught a 13-yard scoring pass in the second quarter.