Match Reaction: Head Coach Beth Wilmeth | C. Miller & H. Mueth

ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern volleyball team will be invited to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fifth straight year after defeating the University of Minnesota Morris 3-0 in Saturday night's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament Championship. The win over the Cougars was UNW's third this season.

While the first set, which resulted in a 25-22 Eagles win, provided the drama and excitement that everyone in the Ericksen Center expected, especially after Morris had taken Northwestern to five sets on the two teams' Sept. 19 match. Sets 2 and 3, 25-14 and 25-10, were definitive wins for the Eagles though, as UNW found real estate on the Cougars' side while providing excellent defense on their own half of the court.

While hitting a .227 rate on offense, Northwestern held Minnesota Morris to .007, adding seven blocks and 81 digs compared to 59 digs for the Cougars. Three different Eagles were credited with at least three blocks, while both Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) and Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) had 22 digs. Marissa Ekness was Morris' top hitter, netting just six kills.

"Our defense won the match for us," said Northwestern head coach Beth Wilmeth. She continued, "When they decide when they want to do something, our girls are unstoppable."

Northwestern looked like it had the first set in hand earlier than it actually did. The Eagles led 24-19, but the Cougars fired off three straight points to make it 24-22 before a Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) kill gave UNW its first of three set victories. Northwestern ran out to big leads in the second and third rounds, owning a 9-3 margin in Set 2 and an 11-3 buffer in Set 3.

Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) was named the UMAC Tournament's most valuable player. Miller's eight-kill, three-block performance on Saturday followed a 14-kill night against Martin Luther College in Wednesday's semifinal. Between the two matches, the Eagles senior had a .333 attacking percentage.

For freshmen like Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork), Saturday's title is brand new. Peterson had a match-high 12 kills, adding 10 digs. Jackie Foster (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City), another freshman, finished with 14 digs.