Friday, November 21
5:30 p.m. - Gangelhoff Center - St. Paul, Minn.
No. 3 seed #15 Minnesota Duluth (26-8) vs. No. 2 seed #7 Southwest Minnesota State (28-6)
UMD 3, SMSU 1: BOX SCORE

RECAP: Minnesota Duluth head coach Jim Boos was surprised how Southwest Minnesota State was setting the ball to its outside hitters.

After all, the Mustangs' Kasey Loeslie, who plays the middle, averages 28 attacks per four sets and was hitting .345 on the season.

The UMD mentor, however, came up with proper adjustments and his back row, namely Rachel Jacobson and Sarah Wyffels, was up to the task as the Bulldogs advanced to their fifth consecutive regional final with a 25-23, 29-27, 23-25, 25-11 win.

"One hundred one digs is a huge number," Boos said of the number of balls his back row put up in the air. Jacobson had 33 digs and Wyffels 23 in thwarting Southwest Minnesota State's effort to take advantage of the one-on-one matchups they were getting with their outside hitters.

That defensive effort game UMD enough of an edge to win the first two games by two points. After losing game three by two points, the Bulldogs put their entire game together for a fourth-game rout and their 26th win of the season.

"They really loaded up on our middles," Mustang coach Terry Culhane said. "We had lots of opportunities where we could tie two people up in the middle and kick it out for a one-on-one matchup outside.

"We didn't go in with that as our game play but it was something we saw and thought we could take advantage of."

UMD could only muster five blocks while being charged with six blocking errors, but the back-row effort made the difference.

Setter Katie Gangelhoff contributed 17 digs while recording 57 assists. She also chipped in with three service aces, two blocks and a kill. Four UMD players reached double figures in kills with April Hansen leading the way with 15. Wyffels had 12 kills and, along with her 23 digs, added four blocks.

Maggie Geske, who came into the match fourth on the SMSU team in attack attempts, was the benificiary of her team's offensive change. She led her team with a match-highs in attacks (57) and kills (19).

SMSU Match Notes: SMSU is making its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament ... SMSU now owns a 3-6 record in the tournament ... SMSU head coach Terry Culhane is now 3-5 in the NCAA Tournament in his career ... SMSU is now 1-2 against Minnesota Duluth this season ... SMSU has never defeated Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA Tournament ... this was SMSU’s third appearance in the region semifinals.

UMD Match Notes: This is UMD's 12th NCAA appearance ... The Bulddogs are 15-11 in those 12 appearances ... This is their seventh consecutive appearance, all under head coach Jim Boos ... They are 14-6 in NCAA tournament play under Boos ... UMD is 6-5 versus ranked opponents this season ... The Bulldogs are 8-5 versus teams that qualified for this year's NCAA championship ... UMD is playing in its fifth consecutive regional championship.

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Terry Culhane:
Opening Statement: “We knew it was going to be a battle.  We just said, “get after it.” And there is nothing to leave behind.  Unfortunately in the first two games they made one more play then we did.  I was proud of our kids.”

On the careers of the SMSU seniors: “We’ve been at it together since the start of my career.  I think they’re the reason we’ve gotten where we are at.  They’re great kids but even better teammates.  They’ve been great role models.  They believed in what we were doing.  They’re three kids that are going to be hard to replace.”

On offensive approach to the match: “Our outsides swung more than our middles.  They really loaded up on our middles and we had one-on-ones on the outside.  We didn’t go into the match with that game plan; defensively they are big and strong in the middle.”

Senior libero/outside hitter Sarah Quiram:
Reflecting on season and career at SMSU: “It was fun.  It was a long run, we had a good year.  The three seniors stuck it out and it’s tough to be done.  It hurts.”

Senior middle hitter Kasey Loeslie:
On SMSU setting the outside hitters: “My job is still the same.  I still go strong and attack the middle and then Sara (Graf) sends the ball outside.  Our outsides are capable hitters.”

On playing for Coach Culhane and Soupir in college after playing for and against them in high school: “In high school I played against Terry, and played for Paul Soupir (SMSU assistant coach).  They bring out the best in you.  It’s been an honor."

MINNESOTA DULUTH QUOTES
Head Coach Jim Boos comments:
On the deciding factors in the first three games: "It just came down to a little play here or there, a little momentum swing here or there. These girls showed a level of maturity that wasn't there three months ago, going out and grinding out wins like that."

On his team's defense: "One hundred one digs is a huge number. This team hasn't been a defensive team. Southwest did some things differently than we expected. I didn't expect Kasey Loeslie to only get 20 swings from the middle. They were getting the ball outside and we had to work defensive on those outside hitters. But we got them out of system at times and forced them to give us some easy balls."

One how the first three sets ended: "We'd get to 17 or 18 points and it was a race from there to 25 points, and you expect that in this region. We've got four of the top 15 teams in the country playing tonight and I think that speaks very highly of how good this region is."

On some of the early timeouts he called tonight: "I'm not one to who usually calls his timeouts early but we were so jacked up and wanted to play that we made some goofy mistakes. We had to play point-by-point. We weren't going to lose in the first five points. We settled down and some of the adjustments we made took affect."

On his team's development this season: "We've played some of our best ball when it matters most. A month and a half ago, the way we were playing, it almost didn't seem possible that we would still be playing at this point."

Junior libero Rachel Jacobson:
On her 33 digs and the team's total of 101: "I don't notice. I just play."

On UMD's seniors: "I came in here with the thought that I want to send my seniors out on a good note and I wanted to do my part."

Junior middle blocker Sara Wyffels:
On her play in the back row: "I usually don't get 23 digs. Rachel and I have a competition every game to see who can come up with the most digs and she still beat me."

On the number of attacks UMD saw from Southwest Minnesota State: "Southwest is a good team and they know how to cut the ball around the block. We made adjustments throughout the game and were in the right positions."

MATCH PHOTOS (click to enlarge)

Southwest Minnesota State	Minnesota Duluth