UNION, NJ – The University of Northwestern volleyball team kicked off tournament action at the North Jersey Challenge at Kean University on Friday. The Eagles first faced Hunter College, defeating the Hawks in straight sets. Northwestern then downed Hamilton College in another 3-0 match to secure the two match sweep.
 
The Eagles improve to 15-7 on the year. Hunter College falls to 8-11 overall, but rest at 5-0 in the CUNYAC. Hamilton drops to 8-9 on the year. Friday's matches marked the first time UNW has faced either of these opponents in program history.
 
UNW 3, Hunter 0. Set Scores: 25-12, 25-10, 25-8
The Eagles controlled the match from the very start against Hunter – jumping out to a quick 6-1 lead in set one. Northwestern never trailed in the match and hit an impressive .314 as a team to Hunter's -.071.
 
UNW was especially dominant in set three when they put together a 9-0 run, propelled by two straight service aces from Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) and consecutive kills from Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria), Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur) and Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock). The Eagles hit .522 in the third set and recorded 14 team kills to the Hawks' five.
 
Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) led UNW offensively with 12 kills in the three-set win. Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) added nine, hitting a .538 average, while Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) finished with eight. Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACRAY) dished out 16 assists and Hope Kapelke (Fort Atkinson, Wisc./Fort Atkinson) added 14. Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) had a team-best 10 digs.
 
UNW 3, Hamilton 0. Set Scores: 25-12, 27-25, 25-13
Northwestern kept up its offensive consistency heading into set one of their second match of the day. UNW hit .379 to cruise to a quick 25-12 set one win over Hamilton.
 
The Continentals pushed back in set two, forcing UNW into an unprecedented 10 attack errors. The Eagles pulled off a 27-25 win after Lucy Pelzel (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) came through with a service ace and Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) followed up with a match point kill.
 
The Eagles glided to a quick third set win and were led offensively by even performances from Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) and Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) (both with nine kills). Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur) tacked on seven.
 
The Eagles recorded an impressive 11 aces in the win led by Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) with four. Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) and Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice) each had three blocks, while Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACRAY) dished out 30 assists. Sydney also added 11 digs on the night. Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) led the defensive efforts with 15 digs.
 
Northwestern will return to action at the North Jersey Challenge on Saturday when they take on Kean University and the University of Scranton at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Both games will be available to watch via live stream at: https://keanathletics.com/watch/