ST. PAUL – The No. 22 University of Northwestern volleyball team opened Friday's play with a sweep of North Central University (7-8, 1-2) before dropping a hard-fought five-set contest to the University of St. Thomas inside the Ericksen Center. The Eagles' record moves to 14-3 overall and 2-0 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play.

Match One vs. NCU (25-11, 25-8, 25-13)
After a convincing 25-11 win in the opening set, UNW cruised to a sweep of conference foe NCU in Friday's first match. The Eagles hit .341 in the contest and held an 11-2 advantage in blocks.

Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) –  fresh off of her American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week nod – floored 11 kills to go along with 18 digs to notch a double-double, while Freya Hanson (Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) added six kills each. Leesa Hulstrand (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) was a force at the net, racking up seven blocks to lead the defensive effort. Gonder contributed five blocks and Kayla Tanner (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) posted four.

Mach Two vs. UST (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 19-25, 10-15)
St. Thomas took the first set before Northwestern fought back, winning the second and third. UST then regained momentum in the fourth and carried that to the fifth to take home the win in the well-played match. The Tommies are receiving votes in the latest American Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.

Both squads struggled offensively, as the Eagles hit .130 and held the Tommies to a .110 hitting percentage. Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) once again paced the offense, slamming a match-high 19 kills, while also posting 27 digs. Leesa Hulstrand (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and Kaelyn Kilbo (Delano, Minn./Delano) posted 27 and 22 killls, respectively.

Jackie Doering (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) had a big night in the back row, notching 36 digs to lead all players. Freya Hanson (Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) contributed 26 digs, while Shanay Gonder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) had eight blocks in the middle.

The Eagles will travel to Northfield to face another Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent Saturday, as UNW will take on Carleton College at 5 p.m. Fans can find more information at www.unweagles.com.