Dakota State Box Score
UW-Stevens Point Box Score
MENOMONIE, Wis. (Sep. 12, 2008) – Northwestern College persevered through their first five-set win of the season against Dakota State University before sweeping the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a 2-0 day at a tournament hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Northwestern and Dakota State alternated sets, as both teams showed signs of life when needed. The Eagles left little doubt in the fifth set as to who was going to win, riding the arm of Sarah Whitmore (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake Christian) (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake Christian), who served for 14 straight points. NWC ultimately won 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-2).
The Eagles rode their momentum from the previous match in a bout with UW-Stevens Point, cleaning house in a quick three-set match. Northwestern out-hit the Pointers, producing a .163 attacking percentage compared to the opponents' rate of .018. Northwestern's 3-0 cleaning came from set scores of 25-17, 25-16 and 25-19.
Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) had a combined 24 kills on the day, including 16 in the first match. Engel's teammate, Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing), had 18 kills in the two matches, while Laura Bicket (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) had a combined 12 kills.
Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) tallied 58 assists on the day to pace Northwestern, while Koth had a team-high 32 digs combined.
The wins increase Northwestern's record to 6-3 in 2008. The Eagles will continue their non-conference schedule on Saturday, Sept. 20, when they host a one-day quad featuring Hamline University, Gustavus Adolphus College and the College of St. Scholastica. NWC will face Hamline at 11 a.m., followed by Gustavus Adolphus at 1 p.m.
