Eagles shine on Senior Night

ST. PAUL (Oct. 24, 2008) – The Northwestern College volleyball team earned at least a share of the UMAC conference championship after defeating Northland College 3-0 on Friday night. It is the second straight UMAC title for Northwestern (20-5, 11-0 UMAC), who trailed only once throughout the entire match.

Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) led all players in the match with 15 kills on the night and a .556 attacking percentage. Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) added nine kills for the Eagles, who it .239 as a team. Northland was only able to counter with a .078 attacking percentage.

As ususal, 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) were superb, combining for 32 assists. Defensively, Koth had 12 digs for Northwestern while Laura Bicket (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) had three blocks.

Melissa Anderson was Northland's best offensive player, tallying seven kills on 18 attempts. Miranda Reichert had 19 assists in the match.

Several representatives from each player's family were on hand for Senior and Parent's Night. Everyone in a Northwestern uniform saw action in the match.

With the win, NWC recorded its third 20-win season under Beth Wilmeth, who is in her fifth season as head coach. In addition to the conference championship, the Eagles also secured the No. 1 seed in the UMAC postseason tournament, which earns them home court advantage throughout the four-team playoff. Northwestern will have a brief weekend off before they play again on Tuesday. NWC will take part in an afternoon triangular on Oct. 28, first facing off against Crown College at 3 p.m. before playing the University of Wisconsin-Superior at 5 p.m.

Print Friendly Version