Box Score
2 p.m. Game
Northwestern def. Augsburg 3-2
25-30, 30-24, 30-21, 22-30, 15-12
6 p.m. Game
Northwestern def. Lawrence 3-0
30-23, 30-19, 30-26
Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 7, 2007 -- After a disappointing loss to St. Catherine in five games on Wednesday, the Northwestern College volleyball team attempted to regroup for a weekend tournament hosted by Augsburg College in Minneapolis. The Eagles made the most of Friday's competition, defeating Augsburg 3-2 (25-30, 30-24, 30-21, 22-30, 15-12) before sweeping Lawrence University 3-0 (30-23, 30-19, 30-26) in an evening affair.
The Auggies and Eagles, who both participated, but did not compete against each other in Northwestern's Labor Day weekend tournament last Friday and Saturday, took it down to a decisive fifth game, where NWC pulled out a 15-12 game, and ultimately, match victory. Northwestern performed well when they needed to, recording a match-best .350 attacking percentage in Game Five.
The usual suspects in the Eagles' Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn.) and Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) were on top of their games, combining for 35 kills in the match. Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) contributed 25 assists to Northwestern's offense while also leading the team in digs with 22. Junior Laura Bicket (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) was a strong contributor on defense, taking part in six of NWC's 11 team blocks.
Speaking of blocks, the Eagles held a strong majority over Augsburg, with Northwestern's 11 dominating the Auggies' 4.5.
On to Northwestern's 6 p.m. match versus Lawrence, the Eagles made quick work of their opponents, hitting a season-best .216 in the three-game contest.
Lawrence never really posed an offensive threat to NWC as they recorded a mere 13 kills in the entire match, which didn't bode well for a team that tallied 89 total attack attempts. The Eagles, however, countered with 38 kills to control the flow of the match.
Engel was the match's only person to tally double-digit kills, leading all players with 11. Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) had a strong performance to assist Engel in the offensive attack, contributing eight kills of her own. Slagter had a team-high 13 assists in the quick match, while Koth had 12 of the Eagles' 46 digs.
Northwestern (4-3) hopes to continue their weekend winning streak with a 9 a.m. match versus Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday. The Eagles will play a place match based upon the continued results of Saturday morning's matches.
