MINNEAPOLIS – With a creative lineup on the floor, the University of Northwestern volleyball team earned its first victory of the 2013 season with a 3-0 sweep of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Friday night at the Augsburg College Invitational. The win placed current Eagles head coach Beth Wilmeth in a tie for first place for most wins in program history (215) with former head coach Jill Peterson (1993-2003) and was equally big as La Crosse had just knocked off 15th-ranked Wartburg earlier in the day.

Without her starting outside and opposite hitters – Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg) and Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) -- on the court due to previously sustained injuries, Wilmeth and her assistants had to improvise and play with a lineup that would place many players out of their natural positions while utilizing more of the team's reserves. The ploy worked against the Eagles from La Crosse, as UNW hit .301 in the 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 set scores.

Northwestern rallied from a 14-14 tie in the first set of the night, winning five of the last six points to seal the set victory. UNW was able to build an early lead in Set 2 that stuck until the end of the round before a slim 20-19 advantage blossomed into a 25-21 victory in the final set to finish the night.

Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) led all players with 12 kills in the match behind a 35-assist performance from Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial). Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and Lydia Palkert (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) each hit over .400 for the Purple and Gold as both tallied nine kills along the way. Defensively, Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) finished with a match-high 12 digs.

Prior to the 3-0 sweep of La Crosse, Northwestern dropped a 3-2 battle against Gustavus Adolphus College to open the tournament. It was UNW's second five-set match in the team's first five contests this year and was their first with the weekend's new lineup card.

The Eagles were in both of the opening sets of which they ultimately lost. Northwestern found itself down by just two points at 22-20 in Set 1 before the Gusties finished things off at 25-22. UNW led by as much as five in the second set (14-9) before Gustavus mounted a comeback to knot the score at 17 points apiece. After continued ties at 18-18 and 19-19, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) school ran away with six of the next eight points to win 25-21.

Northwestern built another lead in the third set, but hung on this time down the stretch. With the Eagles owning a 18-17 advantage, UNW had two bursts of three straight points as kills from Potratz and Miller ended the set with Northwestern on top 25-19. Wilmeth's crew pried open an even bigger gap in Set 4 as an 18-12 buffer stuck until the end when another Miller kill sent the match's end result into a fifth set.

Trailing by a point at 6-5, things came unraveled for the Eagles at a pivotal time in Set 5 as Gustavus found holes in UNW's defense and took nine of 11 points in a 15-7 set victory and a 3-2 match win.

Northwestern hit over .315 in both of the sets it won, but a -.059 mark in the fifth round sent the Eagles in a spiral. UNW came out with more team blocks (10-8) and a better overall attacking percentage, but the Gusties posted more kills and more timely offense.

Potratz and Palkert each had 17 kills in the marathon match with Stoltz earning credit for 43 assists. Miller was big defensively at the net for UNW, getting her hands on a whopping nine blocks. Freshman Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) was close behind, earning credit for seven assisted blocks in her second match of the 2013 campaign.

Now 1-5 overall, Northwestern will return to Augsburg for two more matches on Saturday. The Eagles' slate includes two more University of Wisconsin schools as UNW will start with Eau Claire at 10 a.m. before wrapping up with a rematch against Stevens Point at 2 p.m. Northwestern and the Pointers squared off last Saturday in St. Joseph, Minn. with Stevens Point winning 3-1.

Live statistics of both Saturday matches can be accessed at the link below.
http://athletics.augsburg.edu/news/2013/9/5/vb090613.aspx