ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. (Oct. 29, 2008) – The Northwestern College volleyball team earned Head Coach Beth Wilmeth her 100th and 101st career wins on Wednesday night, as they defeated Crown College and the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Both wins were in three sets for the Eagles. In addition to Wilmeth's coaching milestone, the Eagles claimed their second consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship and the program's 12th overall.
NWC started their first of two matches against Crown in an afternoon match. The time of day didn't faze the Eagles, as they won 25-12, 25-18, 25-10. Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) and Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) each had 11 kills for Northwestern, who hit .450 as a team. Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) added seven kills in a match where the sophomore posted a .778 attacking percentage.
Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) had 22 assists for the Eagles, while five NWC players posted two or more blocks in the three-set match. Northwestern had seven blocks as a team.
Engel and Koth, along with Laura Bicket (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton) returned for another double-digit kill performance in the second match versus UW-Superior, as Northwestern claimed a 25-17, 25-18, 27-25 win to sweep the Yellowjackets this season. As a team, NWC did well again on offense, posting a .235 attacking percentage, compared to .113 for Superior.
Slagter and Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) combined for 44 assists in the 5 p.m. match, while Koth led all players with 18 digs. The Eagles came up big again at the net, posting nine team blocks. Slagter had five assisted blocks, while Bicket and Sarah Whitmore (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake Christian) (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) each had four.
Wilmeth has amassed a 101-74 (.577) record in five seasons at the helm of Northwestern's program. The 2008 season marks the third time that Wilmeth's teams have hit the 20-win mark.
Now 22-5 overall (12-0 UMAC), Northwestern will head west this weekend before returning home to host the first round of the UMAC tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 4. On Friday, Oct. 31, the Eagles will play Presentation College in Aberdeen, S.D. in a 7 p.m. match, followed by a 1 p.m. affair with the University of Minnesota, Morris on Saturday, Nov. 1. If NWC wins both contests, they will have run the table in conference play this season. Tuesday's 7 p.m. playoff match in the Ericksen Center will be against a team that has yet to be determined (St. Scholastica, Bethany Lutheran or Martin Luther).
