Box Score 1 | Box Score 2


ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College volleyball team started its Saturday on a strong note, defeating the College of St. Scholastica 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-22) to take sole possession of first place in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings. The Eagles followed with a decisive 3-0 (25-8, 25-14, 25-18) victory over North Central University in the night cap.

Playing against the Saints in front of an energized home crowd in the Ericksen Center, Northwestern found itself in a 9-4 deficit early on in the first set. The Eagles battled back to tie the score at 10-10 before a Anna Zyvoloski kill peaked another St. Scholastica run that put the Saints up 18-13. Northwestern put points on the board with kills from Tija Rudzitis (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian ) and Lydia Palkert (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) to come closer, but CSS still managed a 23-20 lead. With Katelyn Kostek (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) serving, the Eagles scored three straight points thanks to kills from Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) and Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) to tie the set score. With the scoreboard reading 24-24, Northwestern forced St. Scholastica into consecutive attack errors to win the set 26-24.

Much of the same drama, minus the comebacks, was evident in the second set as well, as neither team was able to gain more than a three-point edge throughout the entire period. Down by a point at 21-20, Northwestern scored three straight on kills by Jonas and Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg) before closing out the 25-22 set win with a Palkert kill from Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial).

St. Scholastica ran out to a 7-0 lead in the third set, but Northwestern mounted a comeback, eventually tying the Saints at nine points apiece. After more ties at 15, 16, 17 and 18, NWC was able to put space between itself and CSS with a kill from Potratz that made the score 21-18. Potratz came up big again in the final point, as her kill from Stoltz put the set away 25-22, and ended the match with a 3-0 Eagles victory.

Northwestern hit .252 in the match, compared to .180 for St. Scholastica. In addition to their offense, the Eagles came up big on defense, out-digging the Saints 59-52 while owning an 8-4 advantage in team blocks.

Potratz had a team-high 14 kills for the Purple and Gold, followed close behind by Korporal's 12 kills. Jonas and Rudzitis each had seven kills in the match as Stoltz went for 44 assists. Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) paced the Eagles in the back row, leading all players with 23 digs. Rudzitis came up big at the net, getting her hands on six blocks.

Anna Zyvoloski had 14 kills to lead St. Scholastica (14-11, 9-2 UMAC).

Against North Central, Northwestern hit .385 to sweep its second match of the day. 12 Eagles saw the court as NWC came out with 18 kills in the opening set, turning a 3-3 tie into a 20-5 lead before winning 25-8. The Rams were able- to get a few more points in the second set as Beth Wilmeth changed her lineup. After leading by a point at 8-7, Northwestern rallied to hold an 18-11 advantage before cruising to a 25-14 win. A Mariah Simonson kill had North Central within two points of the Eagles at both 16-14 and 17-15, but NWC used a run of six points in seven opportunities to widen the gap and take Set 3 by a  25-18 score.

Northwestern's 47 kills easily bested North Central's 22, as did the Eagles' 46 digs when compared to NCU's 26. Lizzy Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian ) and Stoltz shared NWC's setting duties, with Jonas earning 21 assists and Stoltz 16. Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) had 14 kills to lead all players, with Palkert coming in close behind at 11.

Emily Robertson (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) and Korporal each had nine digs to lead Northwestern, who finished the day with a 21-8 overall record (11-1 UMAC).

One more conference victory would give the Eagles a share of the UMAC championship at minimum. Northwestern will have four days of practice next week to prepare for its final weekend of league play, which will begin on Friday night with a match against the University of Minnesota Morris.