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Volleyball

Eagles go 1-3 at UW-Eau Claire Tourney, beat St. Ben's

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- The Northwestern College volleyball team travelled southeast to participate in a weekend tournament hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Of the four teams that NWC faced in the tournament, three were either ranked in the AVCA Top 25 or receiving votes in the poll. The Eagles came away from the weekend with a 1-3 record, but took two of their matches to five sets.

Northwestern got to take on the host-Blugolds from UW-Eau Claire to start the tournament. Northwestern battled with the 13th-ranked Blugolds, but lost in the decisive fifth set (11-25, 14-25, 31-29, 25-23, 1-15). Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) and Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) paced the Eagles, tallying 15 and 13 kills, respectively, in the match while Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) recorded 37 assists. Kelsey Korporal (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) led all players with 19 digs in the game, followed by King's 11.

As a team, NWC posted a .065 attacking percentage, compared to a whopping .327 mark for Eau Claire. The Blugolds held a strong margin in blocking, tallying 15.5 over Northwestern's six. King, Danielle Rhodes (Iowa City, Iowa/City) (Iowa City, Iowa/City) and Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) each had their hands on two blocks in the match.

Next up for Northwestern was Concordia-Moorhead, whom the Eagles also battled to five sets before losing to the Cobbers. NWC's attacking percentage improved from the previous match to .177, but Concordia's offense churned out a .354 hitting rate. The Eagles matched the Cobbers in total kills with 59, thanks much in part to Koth and Sandstrom, who produced 16 and 15 kills, respectively, while King followed with 13. Kostek was again quarterbacking Northwestern's offense with 49 assists while Korporal took care of business on defense with a match-leading 25 digs.

Northwestern got a second shot at the College of Saint Benedict on Day 2 of the tournament after beginning the Eagles began their season with a 3-0 loss to the Blazers on Sept. 1. NWC turned the tables on Saturday, handing St. Ben's a 3-0 loss (25-14, 25-17, 25-19) behind a .253 attacking percentage. Koth and Sandstrom were the go-to people on offense for Northwestern, tallying 15 and 11 kills. Sandstrom's kills came on 17 attempts, which was good for a personal hitting rate of .588. Kostek took credit for 33 of the team's 36 assists in the Eagles' 5-1 offense, while Korporal paced NWC with 13 digs.

The Eagles wrapped up their tournament with a match against seventh-ranked Carthage College. The Lady Reds took care of business in the contest, defeating Northwestern in 3-0 fashion. No Eagles were able to tally double-digit kills as NWC hit .096 as a team. Koth and King were forced to settle with seven kills apiece, while Kostek was held to 20 assists. Korporal shined once again, recording a match-high 15 digs.

Following the tournament's completion, King was named to the event's all-tournament team.

Northwestern, now 1-4 on the early season, will return home to the practice court before heading down Snelling Avenue on Wednesday, Sept. 8 to take on Hamline University. That match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
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