Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

University of Northwestern Athletics

The Official Website of the University of Northwestern Eagles

Slideshow

DigPink

Volleyball

Eagles successful on Dig Pink night

ST. PAUL (Oct. 23, 2008) – Playing in a match that had large implications, the Northwestern volleyball team took down the College of St. Scholastica, 3-0. St. Scholastica entered the match as the UMAC's second-best team, but an Eagles sweep put Northwestern within a match of at least a share of the conference title.

NWC trailed in both the first and second sets, but a large crowd on hand rallied the Eagles to wins in both. The third set was a different story, as Northwestern (19-5 overall, 10-0 UMAC) took care of business from the get-go, hitting .414.

Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) had a match-high 16 kills for Northwestern, while Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) added 12 kills. Koth, who was honored before the match for reaching the 1,000 kill plateau in her collegiate career, had timely kills when her team needed them the most. As a team, NWC held a 46-28 advantage in kills while posting a .248 attacking percentage.

Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) led all players with 24 assists. Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) added 16, as the two combined for an average of 13.3 assists per set while running the Eagles' 6-2 offense.

Three players on Northwestern's squad had 12 or more kills, let by 14 by Koth. Sarah Whitmore (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake Christian) (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) came up big in the middle, posting four blocks in the match.

Senior Shawna Varichak surpassed the 1,500-kill mark for St. Scholastica in the match, leading her team with 10 kills. Caitlin Aten had 22 assists for the Saints (11-11, 7-3 UMAC).

Over 400 people were in attendance for the game, with a majority of them wearing some sort of pink attire for the Eagles' Dig Pink event. Northwestern is one of over 800 high schools and colleges throughout the country that is hosting a Dig Pink match. Dig Pink events are presented by the Side-Out Foundation in hopes of raising awareness for Breast Cancer throughout the month of October.

Northwestern will be back in action again on Friday, when they host Northland College. The match, which begins at 7 p.m., will be another important one for the Eagles. NWC could not only clinch at least a share of the UMAC championship, but would also earn the No. 1 seed in the league's postseason tournament.
Print Friendly Version