ST. PAUL, Minn. – After taking down the no. 2 seed, St. Olaf, in Thursday action – the University of Northwestern volleyball team matched-up with the College of Saint Benedict in NCAA Regional semifinal play. Today's meeting marked the third time UNW met up with St. Ben's this season, and by far the closest of the three. The Eagles went up two sets to one, before falling in a five set battle to the regional's third seed.
 
Resting at no. 15 in the latest AVCA poll, CSB moves to 25-5 on the year as they advance to the Sweet Sixteen and Saturday's 7 p.m. regional championship against the winner of tonight's St. Thomas vs. UW-Stevens Point match.
 
The third-seeded Bennies got off to a strong start, going up 10-4 to start first set play. Two straight kills from Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice) brought UNW within three (11-8) before a right side slam from Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) made it 12-10. The Bennies couldn't find an answer for rookie Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice), who recorded five kills in the first 13 Northwestern points.
 
The Eagles officially tied it up at 15-15 on a kill from Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) and the junior followed up with her second consecutive kill to give UNW their first lead of the set at 16-15. CSB avoided two UNW set point opportunities to pull ahead 25-24, and officially took the set 26-24 following a four-point run.
 
Northwestern took a nine point lead (20-11) late in the second set propelled by a strong service series from Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins). The rookie libero served six straight before the Bennies would sideout. CSB battled back, but the Eagles took the set 25-19 – finalized on a kill from Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian).
 
With the match tied at 1-1, UNW got the full house of Eagle fans excited when they pulled ahead 16-13 in the third following consecutive aces by Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria). Northwestern's aggressive serving continued to pay off with a Kate Rogers (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) ace followed by a Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice) kill – making it 24-15. The Eagles sealed the second straight set on the next point to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
Set four was an all-out battle featuring tied scores at 17-17, 18-18 and 19-19 before the Bennies pulled ahead to make it 22-19. CSB pulled off the 25-22 win, forcing a fifth set decision.
 
St. Ben's went up 8-4 at the midway point in the fifth, and made it 9-4 before Fuglestad ended the run on a kill. Fuglestad would get another one to go, but it wasn't enough to stop the St. Benedict momentum. CSB sealed the match win on a 15-9 fifth set victory.
 
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) and Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) put together dominant offensive numbers for UNW, finishing with 19 kills each. Fuglestad hit an impressive .380. Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice) also showcased a dominant offensive performance, adding 15 kills on a .353 average. Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) tacked on 13 kills and 15 digs.
 
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) played lights out defense, picking up 29 digs. Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACRAY) dished out a career-best 66 assists and UNW finished with 76 kills to CSB's 63.
 
The Bennies were a powerful force at the net. The sister duo of Hunter and Madison Weiss had a combined 17 blocks. Hunter Weiss led CSB with 22 kills.
 
The Eagles complete the 2019 season with a 25-9 overall record after making their ninth trip to the NCAA tournament in the past 10 years. UNW graduates just one senior, Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock), who put together a spectacular senior season.

View the post-game press conference from today's match here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReH1lpkDP1w&feature=youtu.be
 
Keep up with UNW volleyball at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwvb.