MANKATO, Minn. (Oct. 17, 2008) – After losing the first set to their opponents, the Northwestern College volleyball team gained its composure to defeat one of their closest competitors in Bethany Lutheran College, 3-1.  The Vikings took Set No. 1 by a score of 25-22, but NWC rebounded with wins of 27-25, 25,18 and 25-21 in Bethany's Sports & Fitness Center.

Three Eagles had double-digit kills, as Northwestern bested their opponents by a 62-56 margin in kills.  Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./ibbing) led all players with 19 kills, followed by Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran)'s (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) 16 and Laura Bicket (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township)'s (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) 13.  Eva Voss had 15 kills to led the Vikings.

Northwestern hit .249 for the match, throttled by a .382 rate in the third set.  The Eagles also combined for 11 blocks as a team, six of which came from Sarah Whitmore (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake Christian) (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake Christian).

Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) combined for 58 assists in the contest.  Kostek added three aces to her night's resume.

After missing last weekend's games, the team welcomed Danielle Rhodes (Iowa City, Iowa/City) (Iowa City, Iowa/City) back with open arms.  The sophomore tallied 21 digs in the match to go with Koth's 19.  Amanda Edmison had 27 digs for Bethany to lead all players.

Northwestern, now 17-4 overall and 8-0 in UMAC play, has won ten straight matches and 15 of its last 16 contests.  Next on the Eagles' schedule is Martin Luther College, who handed Bethany Lutheran a 3-2 loss earlier in the week.  Northwestern will face the Knights in New Ulm, Minn. on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.