Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – After taking three losses from a trio of solid opponents, two of which are ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25, the University of Northwestern left a weekend tournament with a 3-1 victory over Cornell College. The Eagles started the day with a 3-0 loss to Wartburg College.

Both Cornell and Wartburg handed Wisconsin-Stevens Point its first losses of the season on Friday and Saturday.

Northwestern started with a good first set against the Rams from Cornell, winning 25-17 before following with a 25-21 Set 2 victory. After Cornell took the third round in 25-22 fashion, UNW wrapped up the afternoon with a 25-20 Set 4 win.

While the Eagles didn't have any players reach double digit kills against Wartburg in a 10 a.m. bout, four different Northwestern players hit that mark versus Cornell. Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork), who was announced as an all-tournament honoree after the match, led the way with 16 kills and a .469 hitting rate. As a team, UNW hit .315 overall against the Rams with Lizzy Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian ) collecting 55 assists. Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) had her hands on four of the team's 12 blocks.

Wartburg, who started the day at 10-1, handled the Eagles rather easily in the morning match. UNW was only able to score 44 points throughout the three-set match and had its lowest attacking rate thus far of 2014, collectively hitting .036.

With the three-weekend-long nonconference tournament tour now over, Northwestern (5-6) will shift its focus to its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opponents. The Eagles kick off league play next Friday, hosting the University of Minnesota Morris in a 7 p.m. match that will pit the UMAC's 2013 co-champions against one another. UNW will then finish the weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday, welcoming Crown College to the Ericksen Center at 11 a.m. before going to Minneapolis to play North Central University at 6 p.m.