ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Seventh-ranked Minnesota Duluth ended the University of Nebraska at Omaha volleyball team's 2004 season with a 31-29, 32-30, 30-24 victory in the semifinals of the North Central Region Tournament on Friday night on the campus of Concordia Univesity in St. Paul, Minn. The Mavericks end the season with a 17-11 overall record.

Juniors Ashley Freeman and Heather Hainline led the Mavericks with 14 kills each. Freeman registered a blistering .667 hitting percentage with no errors in 21 attempts. Hainline hit .478 while adding a match-high three blocks.

Junior Christie Johnson directed the Maverick attack with 36 assists in addition to three kills and seven digs. Junior Chelsea Miller paced the UNO defensive effort with a team-high 14 digs.

Despite being swept in the match, the Mavericks held a .298 to .277 advantage in hitting percentage and a five to three edge in total blocks. Nebraska-Omaha was hindered by nine service errors and seven ball handling errors in the match.

Minnesota Duluth, the tournament's top seed and the 2004 North Central Conference champion, improved to 25-4 on the season. The Bulldogs were led by freshman Vicky Braegelmann who tallied 17 kills on .667 hitting and senior Callie Zwettler who notched a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Allison Boddy led the Bulldog defense with a match-high 19 digs.

Minnesota Duluth advances to the North Central Region championship match on Saturday night against the winner of the Concordia St. Paul versus South Dakota match.