ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern volleyball team has won six straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tournaments titles, but fell short in a thrilling four-setter against the tournament's No. 3 seed, Minnesota-Morris. The Cougars clinched their first ever conference tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
It was a packed house at UNW's Ericksen Center for the Saturday night contest and both teams came ready to play. Morris managed to take the first set after orchestrating a 5-0 run late in the set to gain a 24-16 lead. The Cougars finished it off at 25-18.
 
Northwestern answered back, dominating set two by hitting a .242 attack average to Morris's .048 to clinch a 25-16 set two win. A set three battle came next as Northwestern took a 17-16 lead following a dominant series of offensive play by Mariah Halvorsen (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian). The Cougars took over, winning seven of the final eight points to secure a 2-1 match lead.

Northwestern grabbed a 5-0 lead to start set four, but quickly lost momentum to the spirited underdog. The Cougars managed to hold onto an eight-point spread, closing out the match with a 3-1 win.
 
Mariah Halvorsen (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) led the Eagles with 14 kills, two service aces and eight digs. Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) also finished with double-digit kills, tallying 12.
 
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) recorded a match-high 40 assists and added 12 digs. Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) had a team-best 18 digs on the night.

Morris's Layne Herrmann earned the Tournament MVP honor after finishing the match with 34 assists, eight digs and six kills.

The Eagles end the year 23-9, the programs fourteenth straight season with 20+ wins. The NCAA volleyball selection show will take place on Monday, Nov. 5 at 11:30 a.m.