ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 21 University of Northwestern matched up against a tough UW-Eau Claire team in Wednesday night non-conference volleyball action at the Ericksen Center. The Eagles fell in three sets, moving to 5-4 overall as the Blugolds improve to 8-1 this season.
UW-Eau Claire's early season success has been recognized – having received 88 votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. They recently recorded wins over St. Thomas and Wartburg. The two teams last met in 2017 when the Eagles fell 3-1.
The Blugolds came out with force, rolling to a set one, 25-10 final. UNW picked up their first lead in set two at 5-4 and kept it close throughout, going up by as much as three (10-7). The set was all tied up at 19 apiece when Eau Claire won four straight points to lead 23-19. UNW climbed back to 23-21 before two unforced errors ended the set at 25-21 (Blugolds).
The Eagles battled again in set three – leading by three (15-12) and never trailing by more than four. A dominant net performance by Eau Claire propelled them to a third set win. The Blugolds recorded 15 blocks, eight by middle hitter, Krista Meyer, causing trouble for the UNW attack. The Eagles committed an unprecedented 23 errors in the three-set match.
Despite the loss, freshman hitter,
Hope Kapelke (Ft. Atkinson, Wisc./Ft. Atkinson), displayed offensive consistency for the Eagles. Kapelke posted seven kills on 15 attempts, hitting .333.
Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) led the attack with nine kills and added 10 digs to her stat line.
Mariah Halvorsen (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) added six kills on the night and 10 digs. Halvorsen entered tonight's match ranked fifth nationally in NCAA kills/set (4.77) and third in total kills (148).
Freshman setter
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) dished out 27 assists. Schwitters also landed on the NCAA stat leaders list, coming in at #3 in assists per set (11.94).
Freya Hanson (Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville), playing the Libero position, dug up 20 balls to lead the Eagle defense.
Northwestern will begin Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play on Saturday in Morris, Minn. as they take on Minnesota Morris and Northland College in UMAC triangular play. Morris enters the weekend 4-6; Northland is 1-8 on the year.
