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Chelsea Koth
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Volleyball

St. Scholastica upsets Eagles in UMAC Tournament finale

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College volleyball team lost to the College of St. Scholastica in the UMAC Postseason Tournament Championship on Saturday night, as the Saints posted a come-from-behind victory to win 3-2 (16-25, 28-26, 20-25, 26-24, 15-10). St. Scholastica senior Rebecca Udermann took over in her final collegiate match, as she had seven of her team's 11 kills in the final 15-point set.

Top-seeded Northwestern overpowered No. 2 St. Scholastica early, winning the first set 25-16. The Saints battled back in the second set and after going into extra innings, won 28-26. In Set No. 3, the Eagles escaped with a 25-20 win after holding a 20-10 lead at one point. Leading the fourth set 18-15 at one point, NWC could have wrapped up the match, but errors late in the game allowed CSS to take a 26-24 victory to force an abbreviated fifth set. After ties at 5-5 and 7-7, Udermann and her teammates went on to lead 10-5.

The Eagles actually outscored St. Scholastica throughout the entire match while also holding a 10-kill advantage. As a team, NWC hit .167 for the match and St. Scholastica finished with a .153 attacking percentage. Digs and blocks were two more statistical categories where Northwestern did better than their opponents.

Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) led Northwestern with 18 kills, while Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) added 15 in the loss. As fans have been accustomed to this season, Sandstrom did well on the block, getting her hands in on five of the team's 12 blocks. Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) was a third player to hit double-digit kills for the Eagles as she had 13.

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) had 33 and 27 assists to pace the Eagles. Slagter had an especially good night, hitting .421 and tallying nine kills to go with her setting duties. The junior also had five blocks.

Junior Kelsey Korporal (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredricksburg), the one-time role player who used to come off the bench, continued her impressive year with a match-high 39 digs. Sarah Whitmore (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake Christian) (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake Christian) also aided the Eagles' defense with six blocks.

Udermann, who had five kills in the fourth set and a whopping seven in the fifth, finished with 24 kills overall for St. Scholastica (19-13, 10-4 UMAC). Paige Hardy, a freshman who will undoubtedly lead the Saints' talent for years to come, finished with 17 kills and 32 digs.

Northwestern, now 22-11 overall (14-0 UMAC), will now shift its attention to NCCAA play, as the Eagles will host Trinity International University on Saturday, Nov. 14. A win in that 2 p.m. match could win NWC a trip to Kissimmee, Florida for the NCCAA National Tournament on Dec. 2-5.
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