MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern is one win away from winning at least a share of its 17th Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship after defeating the University of Minnesota Morris 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-10) on Friday night. The Eagles needed a victory on the Cougars' home court to stay on the path for an outright league title and ended up using just over an hour to get the big win before heading home.

Northwestern got off to a hot start, putting down 18 kills in the first match. In the third set, which the Eagles started with a 10-5 lead, UNW nearly matched the same mark with 17 kills on 37 opportunities. The score was tied only one time in each set, with only the second round seeing the lone lead change of the entire night.

Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) had 15 kills on 31 attempts to lead all Northwestern players. As a team, the Eagles tallied 50 kills in the match while the Cougars were left without a player in double digits for kills with 28 overall on the night. UNW hit .376, with five other players besides Peterson contributing attacking rates of .300 or better. Leesa Hulstrand (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and Lizzy Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian ) combined for 39 of Northwestern's 43 assists.

Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) paced UNW defensively with 23 digs in the back row, while Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) had her hands on five blocks throughout the night.

Northwestern, now 18-10 overall (11-0 UMAC), will look to continue its undefeated league record on Saturday when the Eagles head to the western edge of the Twin Cities to play Crown College. Saturday's first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. in St. Bonifacius, Minn.