DULTUTH, Minn.- The University of Sioux Falls Volleyball team had a tough match against No. 5 Minnesota Duluth on the road, a match that ended in a straight set victory (25-9, 25-17, 25-15) for the Bulldogs on Friday.

Senior KaSandra Springer led the Cougars with 10 kills, and neared a double-double with nine digs. Senior Allie Maloney also recorded nine digs, a shared team-high.

Junior Krista Goerger had 17 assists, putting her 36 assists away from breaking the program's Division II record for career assists.

Next for the Cougars is a road match against No. 13 St. Cloud State, a team that broke back-to-back losses with a 3-1 win over No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State.

The Cougars were able to make it a one-point, 4-3 lead for the Bulldogs off an attack error, but that one-point deficit turned into a eight-point deficit after the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run. Later in the set, the Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run to go ahead 19-7, then concluded the set on a 5-0 run.

A service ace by Springer, followed by a kill by redshirt sophomore Kenzie Byers, gave the Cougars their first lead of the night at 9-8. The Bulldogs were able to tie it twice afterwards, but Byers and freshman Nicole Jacobson had kills that gave the Cougars the lead again. Down 11-10, the Bulldogs went on the first of their 6-1 runs of the set, jumping ahead 16-12. The Cougars were able to take three of the next four rallies to make it a 17-15 Bulldog lead, but UMD went on their second 6-1 run to seal take a large 23-16 lead before taking the set 25-17.

The Bulldogs used their momentum from the previous sets to climb to an early 14-4 lead over the Cougars. USF were able to get a bit of momentum on their side, taking four straight rallies, but the Bulldogs were able to get their lead back up to 10 at 20-10. The Cougars and Bulldogs split the final 10 rallies 5-5, but the Bulldogs rode their lead to the sweep of the Cougars.