Game Statistics

ST. PAUL (Sep. 10, 2008) -- The Northwestern College volleyball team made it look easy against a Carleton College squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007, defeating the Knights 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-11) in the Eagles' home opener. Northwestern hit .274 as a team while Carleton struggled at -.018.

Wednesday's win was the biggest one yet for Northwestern in 2008, having defeated a team that claimed a win over NCAA Div. II Clark Atlanta University over the weekend. The Eagles hadn't claimed victory over Carleton since September of 2002.

After a 12-12 in the first set, Northwestern took flight for the rest of the match, pulling away in each set. The third set was especially drastic for Carleton, who struggled to reach the five-point mark before Northwestern hit 20.

Senior Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) led Northwestern with 12 kills, while fellow outside hitter Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) added 10.  Both captains hit over .250 in the match, while middle blocker Laura Bicket (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) had a .400 personal attacking percentage with her eight kills.

Northwestern, who is still running a 5-1 offense due to Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian)'s (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) injury, was once again paced by setter Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian). Kostek tallied 36 assists on the night to go with two serving aces and seven digs.

The Eagles seemed to dig everything Carleton had to offer, and the statistics showed it. Libero Danielle Rhodes (Iowa City, Iowa/City) (Iowa City, Iowa/City) had 13 digs, while Koth and Kelsey Korporal (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredricksburg) added 11 and 10 digs, respectively.

Megan La Chapelle had eight kills to lead the Knights, while Annie Eckhoff added five.