Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern lost its first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference affair of 2013 on Saturday morning, falling to the University of Minnesota Morris in a five set thriller. The Eagles took the first two sets – both in extra time, but a third set momentum shift fueled the Cougars to a two-point win in that round before UMM took Sets 4 and 5 to win the match 27-29, 24-26, 25-23, 25-16, 15-11.

Later in the day, UNW finished on a positive note with a three-set victory over Gustavus Adolphus College.

Northwestern had a good buffer going with a 15-11 lead in the first set against the Cougars, but Morris scored six straight points to take a 19-18 lead. The two teams exchanged points as neither squad was able to muster a two-point advantage at the 25-point mark. After ties at 25, 26 and 27, UNW took two straight to win the set 29-27.

Set 2 featured an early Cougars lead that forced Northwestern to make some adjustments down the stretch. Trailing 20-16 late in the set, the Eagles used three straight kills from Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg), Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) and Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) to tie the score at 20 points apiece. More late-set ties ensued at 23-23 and 24-24 before a pair of Morris errors on offense gave the Eagles a 26-24 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match score.

UNW hit well in the third set, but a six point rally from the Cougars started the match's change in momentum and put the visitors up 18-14. Northwestern battled to within a point of Morris at 19-18 and again at 21-20, but Morris wasn't about to let the Eagles take another late set victory as the Cougars won 25-23.

After posting a .225 attacking rate in Set 3, Northwestern's fatigue started to show as the Eagles' passing and attacking started to go downhill as evidenced by .032 and .040 hitting rates in the fourth and fifth rounds. Despite losing setter Kayley Siekmann to an injury in the third set, Morris continued to thrive and keep UNW on its toes.

Down 5-1 in the fifth set, the Eagles came back to lead 11-10 to force a Cougars timeout. That timeout proved to be what the visitors needed as UMM went on a 5-0 run to win the set and match.

Northwestern finished with a .143 hitting percentage, connecting for 53 kills on 175 attempts behind 44 assists from Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial). Vander Galien came on in the late sets, finishing with a team high 14 kills for the Eagles with Korporal close behind at 13. Defensively, Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) kept UNW alive with 27 digs while Miller was good for five blocks at the net.

Morris' Emily Auch led all players with 22 kills. Mandy Allman had 25 assists for the Cougars (12-6, 6-0 UMAC).

Refueled after a two-hour break in between its two matches, Northwestern returned to the gym to beat Gustavus Adolphus 25-15, 35-33, 25-21.

Perhaps still frustrated from the Morris loss, UNW came out with a spark in the first set as the Eagles jumped out to a 12-4 lead against the Gusties, who also had just lost a five-set match to the Cougars in the second match of Saturday's triangular. Northwestern led 22-10, but Gustavus snuck in five points on six serves before a kill by Potratz and a Gusties attacking error gave the Eagles a 25-15 set victory.

An early 7-7 score in Set 2 should have been an indication that the round was going to go down to the wire, but no one in the building knew that each team would go into the 30s before a decision was won. Ties continued throughout the set at 12 and 17 and continued at 24 and 25 as neither team could gain the two-point margin over the other to claim a set victory. Finally, with the Gusties out of substitutions, Palkert and Potratz teamed up for back-to-back kills to give the Eagles a 2-0 match lead with a 35-33 set victory.

Set 3 saw Northwestern lead by as much as six at 19-13 before Gustavus mounted a comeback. The Gusties made the most of Rachel Mazzola's serving as the visitor went on a four-point run to close the gap at 20-19. UNW answered back with four consecutive points of its own though, and a Mazzola attacking error handed the three-set match to the Eagles.

Northwestern hit .220 against the Gusties with Stoltz tallying just one less assist (43) than the senior had versus Minnesota Morris. Three different Eagles hit double-digit kills, including Korporal, who led UNW with 12. Bertsch was once again solid in the back row, posting 19 digs on defense while Miller was her usual self with six blocks.

Now 11-10 on the year (6-1 UMAC), Northwestern will continue with its nonconference schedule next Saturday when the Eagles head to Eau Claire, Wis. for a doubleheader against Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.