Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. – Playing an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) league contest on the road for the first time this season, the University of Northwestern volleyball team didn't let Bethany Lutheran College take any pride in the Vikings' home opener as the Eagles won 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 25-13).  The victory bumps UNW up to 8-9 overall and 4-0 in UMAC play in 2013.

Northwestern posted 41 kills on the night compared to 30 for Bethany Lutheran, with the Eagles leaving the Vikings' Sports and Fitness Center with a .316 attacking percentage, holding their opponent to a .107 rate on the other side of the court. UNW's seven team blocks were five better than Bethany's two.

Bethany Lutheran communicated early that it came out to play as the Vikings led 8-5 early on in the first set. Northwestern and the Vikings were tied at nearly every point before the Eagles gutted out a two-point victory after the final knot at 22-22. From there, the match went almost entirely UNW's way as the Eagles owned a 15-5 buffer midway through Set 2 en route to a 25-14 win. Fans in attendance witnessed much of the same in the third set as Northwestern built up leads of 15-6 and 19-8 before taking the set by 12 and the match 3-0.

Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) kept UNW on its game early on in the night before finishing the three-set match with 10 kills and a .400 attacking rate. Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) added 10 kills and a .300 percentage at the net, while Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) had 37 assists in the win.

Defensively, Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) had 15 digs for the Eagles, with Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg) adding 12.

UNW will be back in action again on Saturday afternoon when they face Martin Luther College at 1 p.m. in New Ulm, Minn.