ST. PAUL – Thrilling, exhilarating, dramatic – the list of adjectives to describe Wednesday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament semifinal match between the University of Northwestern and the College of St. Scholastica goes on and on, as UNW stormed back from a two-set deficit (25-21 & 25-23) to defeat CSS, 3-2, and advance to the UMAC Tournament Championship on Saturday. The Eagles won the final three sets by scores of 25-12, 25-23 and 15-10 to secure their 25^th win of the season.

Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) slammed a match-high 17 kills to lead the offensive attack, while Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) added a double-double of 15 kills and 19 digs. Gonder compiled a .306 hitting percentage in the match, while also recording eight blocks. Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) was strong in the middle, as the senior chalked up 12 kills and six blocks. Lydia Palkert (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) was the fourth Eagle to post a double-digit kill tally, flooring 10. Jackie Foster (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) was once again strong defensively, as the sophomore posted 30 digs to lead all players.  

Northwestern controlled the net, as UNW held a 16-9 advantage in blocks and hit .228 as a team, while holding Scholastica to a team hitting percentage of .156.

It was the third time this season that the Eagles have topped the Saints.

Northwestern will host Minnesota Morris on Saturday night with a trip to NCAA tournament on the line. It will be the third consecutive year the Eagles and Cougars have met in the tournament championship. First serve inside the Ericksen Center is slated for 7 p.m.