ST. PAUL – After losing the first set of the night, the Northwestern College volleyball team got on course and beat the University of Minnesota, Morris 3-1 on Wednesday night to advance to the championship game of the UMAC Tournament. The Eagles fell 25-20 in Set 1 before rebounding to win 25-19, 25-16 and 25-17. NWC will now face the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth on Saturday with the winner earning an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.

Northwestern's defense had a great night, totaling seven team blocks to go with 49 digs to keep itself on pace. Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) each posted double-digit digs while Kostek and her 39 assists quarterbacked the offense to a .182 hitting percentage for the night.

Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) shined in the front row, earning 14 kills on 32 opportunities to lead second-seeded NWC. Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) followed with 10 kills while Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) added nine. Koth came up equally big on defense as well, as she and Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) (Neenah, Wis./Victory Christian) each had three blocks on the night.

Morris, who entered the semifinal match as the tournament's third seed, was paced by Stephanie Schmielsing's 12 kills. Natalie Thomas had 36 assists for the Cougars.

The Eagles, now 25-13 on the season, will hope that Saturday's match is a charm as Northwestern and St. Scholastica face each other for the third time this year. The Saints won the two previous matches by 3-0 and 3-1 scores, but anything could happen with the NCAA Tournament prize waiting for the victor. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start in St. Scholastica's Reif Gym.