Kearney, Neb. – The 15th ranked Minnesota-Duluth volleyball team got 12 kills from outside hitter Anna Zyvoloski, and 11 from Alyssa Nelson, to sweep 7th-ranked Nebraska Kearney (-17, -18, -21) in the first round of 2009 NCAA Central Regional Volleyball Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.

For the match, UNK (33-3) had a season-low hitting percentage of .143.  Leading the way was senior middle Nikki Scott with 12 kills and a .321 attack percentage. Also, junior setter Cola Svec had 31 assists and 8 digs.

Duluth, who also swept UNK back in the 2003 season, had more kills (45-36), team blocks (14-4) and digs (55-44) then the Lopers. UMD set the tone early with 7 team blocks in the first set, thus holding UNK to a negative attack percentage.

Scott and fellow seniors Kelli Wemhoff, Shannon Clausen, Erica Burson finish their careers with a 126-19 overall record and 70-6 RMAC record, plus numerous awards for their work on and off volleyball court. That includes conference player of the year, conference academic team, all-american and all region teams.

The 2009 all-region and All-American teams will be chosen in the coming weeks.

UMD improves to 23-8 and will take on No. 7 seed Metro State in the Central Region semifinals. The last time UNK lost in the first round of the NCAA Championship came in 2006 when the Lopers fell to Mesa State in five sets.

Lopers of the Match
Nikki Scott (Sr., MB, Broken Bow) -  12 kills in 28 swings, .321 hitting percentage
Kelli Wemhoff (Sr., DS, Humphrey) -  9 digs (finishes with 2nd most digs in UNK history at 2,042)
Shannon Clausen (Sr., RS, Beatrice) - 5 kills in 7 swings, .714 hitting percentage
Erica Burson (Sr., OH, Gretna) -  6 kills in 22 swings, 1 block assist

Opponent Notes
Anna Zyvoloski 12 kills in 32 swings, 7 digs, 4 blocks
Alyssa Nelson 11 kills in 24 swings, 9 blocks
Eleena Iisakka 40 set assists, 2 service aces, 8 digs