UMD Volleyball Show Off Resiliency at Opening Weekend Tournament

The Bulldogs dropped their opening match in the Keweenaw Classic to Michigan Tech, but then bounced back to win their final three, which included two sweeps.

DULUTH, Minn. – The UMD volleyball team came into this season with a lot of question marks. But last weekend, like a great gameshow contestant, they kept coming up with great answers.

The Bulldogs dropped their opening match in the Keweenaw Classic to Michigan Tech, but then bounced back to win their final three, which included two sweeps. The team’s performance showed they can respond almost immediately when their backs are against the wall.

“Coming out and playing four games when we’ve only played two weeks together, I haven’t played with ten of these girls. And try to shift that momentum from stagnant to high momentum is just a mindset,” said senior Summer Ballard.

“I thought there was a lot of nerves, a lot of mistakes being made. I think as we settled in and got more comfortable, spent a little bit more time focusing on some of the things we knew we had to slow down on the other side, the volleyball continued to improve and that’s really what we were looking for,” head coach Jim Boos said.

It was a great weekend for sophomore outside hitter Cianna Selbitschka, who led the Bulldogs in points and kills.

“I had a lot nerves going into that first game. I think that being in that big crowd of that being their home court. They had the big band there. It was a lot to take in and I think that getting that first game out of the way and then getting our momentum back for the next three games really helped us,” said Selbitschka.

“I don’t think it was anywhere near what she’s capable of. I think she would probably agree. She was a little tentative at times. She was a little frustrated at times. Got a little inward at times. She’s got nothing but growth and improvement to do as well,” Boos said.

The 11th-ranked Bulldogs will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin this weekend to take part in the Hampton Inn Invite, hosted by Wisconsin Parkside.