ST. PAUL – History has a funny way of repeating itself, just ask the University of Northwestern volleyball team. The Eagles are heading back to the NCAA Sweet 16 after UNW swept the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (23-6) in the second round of the St. Paul Regional Friday night. Inside of an electric Ericksen Center, Northwestern took a back-and-forth first set (25-21), before holding back a ferocious UWL rally in set two (25-23) to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Eagles completed the sweep with a convincing 25-17 win in the third to earn their-second straight trip to the Sweet 16. The Eagles improve to 32-4 on the year.
UNW will meet the defending National Champion and No. 1-ranked Cal Lutheran Regals in the St. Paul Regional Final on Saturday night with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. First serve inside the Ericksen Center is set for 7 p.m.
UNW hit over .200 in all three sets to finish with a .215 hitting percentage, while UWL was held to a .100 hitting percentage – including a .000 percentage in the final set.
Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) was spectacular, as the junior had already notched a double-double midway through the second set. The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Player of the Year finished with a match-high 16 kills and 27 digs to lead all players.
Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) contributed eight kills, while
Kaelyn Kilbo (Delano, Minn./Delano) posted 20 assists.
Toria Gillson (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Christian) was tremendous in the middle, as the senior recorded nine stuffs to help UNW out-block UWL 15-5.
Abby Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) and
Jackie Doering (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) were also strong in the back row, as they came up with 20 digs and 17 digs, respectively.
Fans can find out more information on the regional by visiting the webpage
here.
