Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ST. PAUL -- Northwestern split its doubleheader with Crown College and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Wednesday night, beating the Storm in three sets (25-16, 25-10, 25-14) before falling to the Blugolds 15-25, 19-25, 25-18, 17-25.

In the first match against Crown, Northwestern hit .362 with 49 kills against the Storm's 14 kills and .000 attacking percentage.  Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) was able to get off 13 kills in the match while Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) and Jacki Smith (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) had nine. Smith's kills mark was a career best for the freshman.

Defensively, Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) had a match-high 12 digs while Smith had her hands on three of the team's four blocks.

Shelby Vischer had half of Crown's kills with seven.

Eau Claire, who entered Wednesday tied atop the WIAC standings, forced the Eagles to play better.  Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) had a 20-kill match, but Northwestern struggled to get beyond UW-Eau Claire's block.  Koth added 17 kills and Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) finished out the nightcap with 43 assists, as the one-two-three combination of Liz Amici, Anne Satterlee and Laura Slinger propelled the visitors past the Purple & Gold on the other side of the court.  Amici did her damage in the middle with 15 kills, followed by Satterlee's 14 and 13 from Slinger.

Bertsch had 14 more digs on defense for Northwestern, with Smith picking up five more blocks at the net.

Northwestern, now 25-4 overall and 12-0 in UMAC play, will now take a day off on Thursday before heading north to wrap up its league schedule over the weekend.  The Eagles will face Northland College in Ashland, Wis. at 7 p.m. on Friday before facing the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Duluth, Minn. in a match that will determine the final seedings for next week's conference tournament.  NWC is guaranteed to host a semifinal match, which will be in the Ericksen Center on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.