Box Score

NEW ULM, Minn. – It took a little longer than hoped, but the University of Northwestern kept its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) unbeaten streak alive with a 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-17, 26-28, 15-10) victory over Martin Luther College on Saturday afternoon. The Knights, who were picked third in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll, gave the Eagles a run, nearly matching UNW's kills total and attacking percentage.

Northwestern owned an 11-7 advantage in the first set that lasted until midway through the round when Martin Luther slowly crept back, closing in at 18-15 and then using a four-point run to tie the set at 20-20. From there, it was a fight to the finish as fans in attendance witnessed ties at 21, 22 and 23 before a Lydia Palkert (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) kill and a Martin Luther error gave UNW a 25-23 set victory. The same theme was prevalent in the second set, with Northwestern holding on to a 19-15 buffer before Martin Luther scored five straight points to take a 20-19 lead. From there it was back and forth until the Knights used a pair of kills to steal a 24-23 Eagles margin and win the set 26-24.

Martin Luther led 16-14 in the third set, prompting an offensive onslaught by Northwestern that ultimately resulted in a 25-17 victory in the Eagles' favor with the Knights getting just one point in amidst an 11-point run by UNW. The MLC team that showed up for Sets 1 and 2 was back in the fourth round as the home squad came back from a 25-24 deficit to win 28-26 in extra time to force a race to 15 in the fifth set to determine the match winner.

That fifth set was tied at 8-8, but consecutive kills from Palkert and a Knights attacking error put Northwestern up 11-8. Kayla Schoeneck briefly put Martin Luther back in control before Potratz was back at it, recording two more kills as the Eagles won the set 15-10 to take the match 3-2.

Both teams were over .200 in attacking as each team's final kills tally was within three of the other. Northwestern finished with a .236 hitting rate with 75 kills on 212 opportunities as setter Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) recording 70 assists. Four different Eagles had double-digit kills, with Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg) steadily building her match total up to 20. Palkert added 18 kills, with both Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) and Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) contributing 13.

Defensively, UNW had 14.5 blocks and 88 digs. Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) led all players with 30 digs on the afternoon. Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and Palkert each came up big at the net. Miller had nine blocks, two ahead of Palkert's seven.

Rebecca Engelbrecht had 27 kills for Martin Luther, who also received 18 from Schoeneck. Miranda Maasz had 60 assists for the Knights, who finshed with 96 digs as a team.

Now an even 9-9 this season, Northwestern will be able to rest and practice next week before a 24-hour marathon that will see the Eagles play three matches in their home gymnasium at the Ericksen Center. UNW will first play Crown College on Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m. before hosting the University of Minnesota Morris and Gustavus Adolphus College in a Saturday doubleheader. Saturday's contests are on a rolling schedule, with the first match slated to begin at 11 a.m.