ASHLAND, Wis. – The No. 16 nationally ranked University of Northwestern volleyball team stayed perfect in conference play with a sweep of the Northland Lumberjills on the road. With the 3-0 win, the Eagles extended their sweep streak in the conference to seven, improving to 7-0 in UMAC matches and going 21-0 in sets played against conference opponents.
The Eagles opened the match firing on all cylinders. Up 5-2, Northwestern strung together nine-consecutive points to go up 14-2. The Lumberjills then got three points of their own to make it 14-5, but the Eagles proceeded to win the next 10 to make it 24-5, and close out the set shortly after at 25-7.
The second set was the most competitive of the match, with UNW having just one run of six points and no others that exceeded three. Northwestern took a 22-13 lead before Northland went on a streak of their own of five in a row, making it 22-18. The Eagles then won the final three points to go up 2-0 in the match.
The final set was much like the first, with the Eagles taking control and efficiently winning point after point. A 6-0 run for UNW opened the set, after which the Lumberjills won 6 of 11 points to make it 11-6. From then on, though, the Eagles found their rhythm and went on a 14-3 run to close out the set at 25-9 and complete the sweep. Nine of the final 10 Northwestern points were won with kills.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) led Northwestern with nine kills on .375 hitting, had 13 digs, and served three aces. The Eagles spread the ball around as the quartet of
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson),
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria),
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls), and
Lucy Pelzel (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) each had six kills in the match.
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) had 30 assists for 10.00 per set, and
Ashley Hinrichs (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) led the Eagles with a career-high 23 digs.
Next up for Northwestern is a return home for a match against the University of Wisconsin Stout Blue Devils at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13, in the Ericksen Center.
