MINNEAPOLIS – Northwestern College closed out Day 2 at the Augsburg College Invitational on a good note, defeating the College of St. Benedict for the second time in four days to earn third place.  The Eagles fared well in the eight-team tournament, which featured four teams that were either ranked or received votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, including seventh-ranked University of St. Thomas, whom Northwestern lost to in its first match on Saturday.

Against St. Benedict, Northwestern had one of its best hitting percentages of the season thus far, tallying 36 kills on 97 attempts in a 25-21, 25-23, 25-13 victory.  Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) couldn't be stopped, as the middle blocker had 11 kills on 14 attempts (.714) with just one error. Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) also added 11 kills in the match while the Eagles posted 11 blocks as a team.

Earlier in the day, NWC took a set off of the Tommies, who increased their 2011 record to a perfect 8-0 before the end of the tournament.  After St. Thomas won the first set 25-21, Northwestern stormed back to tie the match with a 25-16 Set 2 victory. The Tommies then took the third and fourth sets in 25-20 and 25-15 fashion.

Koth was back at it again with 17 kills while fellow senior Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) was right behind with 16 kills, contributing to NWC's team total of 54 kills and a .113 attack rate.  King was later named to the all-tournament team. Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) had 46 of the Eagles' 48 assists, while Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) led both teams with 22 digs.

Northwestern, now 7-2 overall, is having one of its best starts in recent history.  The Eagles will return to the practice court on Monday to prepare for another local tournament at Macalester College on Friday and Saturday, September 16-17. NWC is slated to face Macalester, Grinnell College, Buena Vista University and Carleton College in the two-day event.