ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern volleyball team welcomed UW-Superior to the Ericksen Center for Wednesday night UMAC semifinal action. The Eagles, who entered as the playoffs' no. 1 seed, and the no. 4 seeded Yellowjackets, left it all on the court. UNW took the first two sets with ease before Superior battled back, tying it up at two apiece. With a dominant fifth set win, UNW will advance to Championship play on Saturday against Minnesota Morris. First serve is slated for 7 p.m., with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.
 
Northwestern last met up with UW-Superior on Oct. 23 when they downed the Yellowjackets in four sets at home. UNW leads Superior 15-5 in all-time records. The Yellowjackets broke Northwestern's 65-match UMAC win streak last season – their only win over the Eagles in the last 10 contests.
 
The Eagles got off to a hot start when they hit an impressive .314 in the first set to cruise to a 25-13 win. Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian), Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) and Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) each recorded three kills in the set.
 
Set two showcased a tighter battle as the Yellowjackets hung with UNW, closing the scoring gap to one point (20-19) late in the set. UW-Superior took the first lead of the match on an ace from Hannah Googleye to make it 21-20 and extended it to 22-20 before the Eagles won five straight points to clinch the set.
 
Set three proved to be another battle as both teams looked to extend their playoff run. After a series of back-and-forth scoring, the Eagles took a 21-20 lead following a kill by Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian), her tenth of the night. UNW extended the lead with an ace from Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins). Superior tied it up at 24 even, but Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) responded with a monstrous kill from the right side to give UNW their first and only match point. UW-Superior would battle back to take set three, 28-26.
 
UNW trailed for the majority of set four as Superior held a five point lead late into the set. Down 20-15, the Eagles began to dig their way out. Kills from Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) and Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) followed by a UWS attack error wasn't enough. Superior would cruise to a 25-21 set four win to tie the match up at two sets apiece.
 
The Eagles entered set five with fire, rolling to a 4-0 start. A kill from Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) gave UNW a five point lead at the midway point (8-3). A big time block from Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) and Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) gave the Eagles match point at 14-6 and UNW sealed the five-set win on a UWS attack error.
 
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) led the offensive efforts for Northwestern, finishing with 19 kills. Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) added 15 kills on the night and Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) tacked on 14. Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) was the fourth UNW player to reach double-digit kills with 10. 

Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) and Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACRAY) both recorded double-doubles on the night. Kalley added 21 digs to her 15 kills, while Sydney dished out 56 assists and picked up 17 digs. Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) led the defensive efforts with 33 digs in the win. Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock), the UMAC's leading blocker, had a team-best eight blocks on the night.

UW-Superior ends the 2019 season with a 16-19 overall record. The Eagles improve to 23-8 this season and rest at no. 7 in the NCAA Central Region rankings.

The University of Minnesota Morris was the 2018 postseason champion earning a bid to the national tournament. The Eagles defeated Morris in straight sets last week to clinch a share of the UMAC regular season title and playoffs no. 1 seed. Stay up to date with all UMAC Volleyball Playoff information by visiting the Championship Site HERE.

For all things Northwestern volleyball, visit www.unweagles.com or follow the Eagles on social at @unwvb on Instagram and Twitter.