ST. PAUL – Instant classic could be the best words to describe Saturday's St. Paul Regional Final, as the No. 18 University of Northwestern volleyball team (33-4) used an all-out effort to defeat the No. 1 and defending National Champion Cal Lutheran University (27-5) in a five-set thriller Saturday night inside an electric Ericksen Center to extend the Eagles' record-breaking season. Northwestern – who will be making its first-ever Elite Eight appearance – won by set scores of 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 16-14 to dethrone the Regals.



The Eagles will now travel to Oshkosh, Wis., where they will meet the winner of the Eastern and Stevens Institute of Technology match which will be played tomorrow at noon. The opening round of the Elite Eight will get underway on Thursday.

After CLU set the tone early with a 25-17 win in set one, UNW found its groove and bounced back to take the next two to go on top 2-1. UNW led 15-14 in the fourth and looked like it was on its way to earning the four-set win, but the defending national champs rallied to earn a 25-23 win and force five sets.

In a back-and-forth, exhilarating fifth set, Northwestern trailed 13-11, but a serve error and Freya Hanson (Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) kill evened the score at 13-13. UNW then went up 14-13 and had its first of two match points. CLU slammed a kill to knot the score at 14 all. Back-to-back CLU errors gave Northwestern the dramatic fifth-set win.



Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) – the St. Paul Regional's Most Outstanding Player – was lights out once again, as the junior was phenomenal offensively and defensively. She posted 24 kills, 33 digs, four blocks and two service aces to pave the way for the Eagles.

Freya Hanson and Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) matched Peterson's outstanding play on offense, as the duo both recorded 14 kills. Gonder was also named to the six-member St. Paul Regional All-Tournament Team. Kaelyn Kilbo (Delano, Minn./Delano) and Leesa Hulstrand (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) once again split the setting duties, racking up 31 and 27 assists, respectively. Jackie Doering (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) continues to be remarkable in the back row, as the junior was all over the place, notching 25 digs.

The numbers for the two teams were nearly identical, as both posted 70 kills, eight blocks, while UNW held a 4-3 advantage in service aces and CLU a 67-66 tally in assists.