Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College volleyball team swept its first day of competition at the Macalester College Invitational on Friday, beating Macalester and Grinnell College 3-0.
The Eagles had little trouble with the host Scots, defeating Macalester 25-11, 25-20 and 25-8 in a match that lasted less than an hour. NWC hit .387 in the first set and .292 in the third to average .247 for the match.
Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) led Northwestern with eight kills, while
Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) and
Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) followed with seven kills apiece.
Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) had 27 of the Eagles' 29 assists.
Defensively, NWC posted 12 blocks as a team, six of which came off the hands of freshman
Jacki Smith (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy). What the Eagles didn't block,
Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) and
Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) picked up in digs as the duo combined for 25 digs.
Grinnell gave Northwestern a little more of a challenge, but the Eagles held the Pioneers to scores of 16, 21 and 15 in another quick three-set match. Northwestern hit better in the nightcap than they had against Macalester, posting a .284 attacking percentage.
Koth was at it again against Grinnell, posting 12 kills on 21 attacks with four hitting errors. King one-upped her fellow senior with a 13-kill performance while Stoltz had all but one of the Eagles' 42 assists. Miller was also solid on offense, posting eight kills on 16 attempts.
Bertsch picked up a game-high 13 digs while Jonas led the team with six blocks.
Northwestern heads into Day 2 of the tournament with a 9-2 record. The Eagles will face Buena Vista University at 10 a.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with a 2 p.m. match against Carleton College.
