Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game Reaction: Beth Wilmeth | Krista Stoltz
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ST. PAUL -- Northwestern College started its Saturday doubleheader with a 3-0 victory (27-25, 25-12, 25-15) over Martin Luther College to boost its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) record to 2-0. The Eagles followed with a 3-0 defeat of Gustavus Adolphus College (25-14, 25-17, 25-23) to extend NWC's winning streak to eight matches, all of which took just the minimum three sets.

Martin Luther came back from a 14-10 deficit to tie the score at 16-16 in the first set and nearly matched Northwestern every point. With the score knotted up at 25-25, Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) pounded two straight kills, giving the Eagles the set victory. NWC kept on going to start the second set, as Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) served eight straight times to put the home team up 8-0. It was mostly downhill from there for Northwestern as the Purple and Gold reached 23 before Martin Luther hit double digits. Set No. 3 was much of the same story, as the Eagles owned a 20-9 lead before finishing the set and match with a 25-15 victory.

The Eagles hit .305 as a team in the match with Koth and Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) carrying much of the offensive load. Koth had 15 kills on 25 attempts while Miller posted 14 on 28 as Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) tallied 39 assists. NWC was solid on the block, as Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) and Jacki Smith (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) had five and four blocks, respectively. Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) anchored the Eagles' back row with 15 digs.

Rachel Hein had 11 kills for Martin Luther, who finished the match with a .022 team attacking percentage. Miranda Maasz had 20 assists while Hein had her hand in four blocks.

The Eagles brought even more intensity to their second match of the day against Gustavus Adolphus. Northwestern's fire was evident from the start, as the Eagles raced out to leads of 6-0 and 10-3. Gustavus wasn't able to make up the difference as NWC held a 20-10 lead before winning the first set 25-14. Set No. 2 featured much of the same, as Katelyn Kostek (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) scored two aces to put Northwestern up 18-10. Koth, Greata King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) and Miller finished with three straight kills as the Eagles won 25-17. The third set came down to the wire with Gustavus taking a lead at 10-9. The Eagles quickly regained one- and two-point leads that survived a Gusties push late in the set, and the home team won 25-23 on a kill by Koth.

For the second straight match, NWC hit over .300, finishing with a .316 mark against Gustavus Adolphus while the Gusties wrapped up their day with a .163 attacking percentage.  While no Eagles hit double digit kills, everyone did their job, be it passing, setting, hitting or defense. King led the team with nine kills, while Koth added eight kills. Bertsch led all players with 11 digs while Jonas and Stoltz each had three blocks.

Angela Ahrendt had 10 kills to lead Gustavus Adolphus.

The Eagles, now 14-2 overall, will get a day off on Sunday before hitting the practice court again on Monday in preparation for a pair of UMAC matches next weekend at Presentation College and the University of Minnesota Morris.