As the assistant at North Dakota State, Jim Boos frequently wore a polo shirt and shorts. Tuesday night, he returned in a suit and tie.
Appropriately, his Minnesota-Duluth volleyball team is all dressed up and going places. The Bulldogs, ranked third in Division II and first in the North Central Region, defeated the Bison 30-27, 30-26, 31-29 at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
Boos, in his first year with Duluth, saw, his team improve to 16-1.
The Bulldogs have done it despite a tough schedule. They've played only two home matches.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little surprised," Boos said. "I knew they had a good team coming back. I didn't have to come in and re-invent the wheel."
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While the Bulldogs are rolling, the Bison are struggling. It was their fifth loss in seven matches and dropped them to 13-7.
The Duluth match was a microcosm of the losing streak. Nothing glaring. Nothing that screams: that's bad.
But nothing has been great, either.
"It's one of those classic things, comparable to the St. Louis Rams," said Bison coach Zaundra Bina, in reference to the 0-5 NFL team. "We've had great seasons the past two, three years. You get a little younger. It's tough to get it back once you start losing a little bit."
Boos was a Bison assistant for three years. He was a part of NDSU's great seasons.
Coming back to Bentson Bunker, however, was just another match.
"You try and take as much of the personal stuff out of it," he said.
Yet, afterward, he was thankful for the lessons learned at NDSU.
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"I certainly have Zaundra and NDSU to thank for preparing me for this move," he said. "I'm learning on the job. Luckily, we've played well."
UM-DULUTH (kills-blocks-aces): Zwettler 4-1-2, Isakka 6-4-1 (36 assists), Timm 4-5-0, Kukowski 21-5-1, Wuebben 5-2-0, Nucech 14-3-1 (7 digs), Lind 0-0-0, Koper 2-0-0, Wallenta 0-0-0.
NDSU: Murphy 7-0-0 (7 digs), Tuckner 6-1-1, Holmgren 5-0-0 (26 assists), Gronner 10-3-0, Rieck 2-0-0, Hebl 15-4-1, Strey 0-0-0, Swanson 1-0-0, Haider 2-1-0, Anderson 1-1-1, Ruebke 0-0-0.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546
