Box Score Box Score

ASHLAND, Wis. – The Northwestern College volleyball team opened its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schedule with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 26-24) win over Northland College on Friday night, moving up to a 9-5 overall record in the process. The Eagles were strong on both offense and defense in the match, and will now shift their attention to a Saturday afternoon contest against the College of St. Scholastica.

Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg) had 14 kills on 29 attempts as the Eagles hit .238 as a team behind 39 set assists for Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial). Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) and Lydia Palkert (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) each added nine kills as the Eagles posted 43 kills as a team, 23 more than the host-LumberJills.

Northwestern got a big boost right off the bat in the first and second sets, leading 12-6 and 12-3 in those sections of the match. Northland gave the Eagles a stronger competition in the third and final set, leading 19-15 and 24-20 before Northwestern scored six straight points to win 26-24.

The Eagles used 52 digs to keep the ball in play on defense, 17 of which came from Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian), who was the team's spark plug at the service line at the end of the match. Korporal finished with 11 digs while Courtney Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian) and Stoltz each had three blocks. Northwestern's defense held the LumberJills to a mere .010 hitting rate for the night.

Everyone who was healthy on head coach Beth Wilmeth's roster saw time on the court.

Northwestern now moves on to Saturday's 1 p.m. matinee against St. Scholastica, who shared the 2011 UMAC title with the Eagles. The Saints easily beat North Central University 3-0 on Friday night, meaning one team will lose its conference undefeated status. Catch the game online courtesy of the Saints Sports Network.