ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern volleyball team welcomed Carleton College to the Ericksen Center for a Friday night non-conference showdown. Amid a packed home crowd, the Eagles downed the Knights 3-1. The match featured a brilliant back-and-forth 30-28 set four victory for UNW. Northwestern picked up the program's 18th win over the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent and seventh consecutive, dating back to 2009. Set scores came in at 25-19, 23-25, 25-16 and 30-28. With the win, Northwestern moves to 5-2 overall this season.
 
The Eagles clinched set one with ease after well-rounded offensive play and a 7-0 run was too much for the Knights to handle. Carleton fought back in set two -- hitting .324 as a team and committing just three errors. Despite a seven-kill set two performance from Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian), Northwestern came up short, evening the match at one set apiece.

UNW dominated set three led by rookie middle blocker, Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice), who tacked on three kills. The Eagles stayed aggressive, recording three service aces in the set, while Carleton suffered from repeated attack errors and their lowest hitting percentage of the match.

Set four was one for the books. After 12 tie scores and four lead changes, the Eagles earned the match win on an ace from Lucy Pelzel (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral). It was the freshman's fifth of the four-setter. 

Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) and Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Christian) were dominant in the fourth-set battle. The duo each recorded eight kills in the set to finish with 19 in total. Schwitters also dug up 14 balls on the night.

Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACRAY) dished out a season best 51 assists, while Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) led UNW defensively with 22 digs. Soleil Newland (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids - Rice) added a team-best four blocks.
 
Northwestern will be back at it on Saturday, Sept. 14 when they compete in the River Falls Tournament. The Eagles are scheduled to take on the College of St. Benedict for the second time this season at 10 a.m., followed by UW-River Falls at noon. Both matches will be streamed online at: https://uwrfsports.com/watch/?Archive=368&type=Live. 
 
Follow UNW volleyball online this season at www.unweagles.com or on Instagram and Twitter at @unwvb.