Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. -- The Northwestern College volleyball team became the second Eagle squad to earn an automatic berth into its respective NCAA Tournament on Saturday, defeating the College of St. Scholastica 3-0, just hours after the NWC women's soccer team punched its ticket to the big dance.
Northwestern, the No. 2 seed in the UMAC Tournament, took care of business in less than an hour on their chief rival's home court, winning 25-15, 25-20, 25-14. Senior setter
Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) was named the tournament's most valuable player following the final point.
Every part of NWC's game was working, and working well.
Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) and
Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) took care of the offense with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Sandstrom and several teammates were almost always there to put a hand in the face of St. Scholastica's Anna Zyvoloski or Paige Hardy. If the Saints got a look,
Kelsey Korporal (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) and
Danielle Rhodes (Iowa City, Iowa/City) (Iowa City, Iowa/City) were usually there to dig the attack. But the one who really stepped up was Kostek, who left St. Scholastica guessing as to who she was going to set. The senior ended the night with 34 assists while leading the Eagles to a team hitting percentage of .367.
Zyvoloski finished the match with 11 kills for the Saints, who struggled offensively at .099. Northwestern wrapped things up with seven team blocks, keeping Hardy, last year's UMAC Rookie of the Year, below a zero percent attacking rate.
The Eagles, now 26-13 on the season, will closely watch an NCAA selection show on Monday at 10 a.m. to see where and when they will play in Friday's first round of the 63-field tournament.
Watch the selection show here. More information about the show and the NCAA Tournament will be posted on nwceagles.com when it becomes available.
