ST. PAUL, Minn.- The #17 UNW Volleyball team continued their remarkable run through the UMAC on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep over UW-Superior. The win improved the Eagles to 23-3 overall and 10-0 in conference play.

The Eagles were in control throughout the evening and that became clear from the first set. The home team opened the set with a 9-2 run and never looked back. The Eagles' lead would not get smaller than six throughout the first set. The Yellowjackets scored to make it a 14-8 game, before the Eagles would respond with six consecutive points behind the serving of Ashley Hinrichs (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) to pull away and win the first set by a score of 25-10.  

The second set may have given the large Ericksen Center crowd déjà vu as it followed a very similar script as the first set. Once again, the Eagles would get out to an early lead, and once again Northwestern would win the set 25-10. There was also a 6-0 run in this set, but this time it was Gabrielle Straub's (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) serving that led the way.

The third set was the closest of the three, but the Eagles were still able to remain in the driver's seat throughout the entirety of the set. The Eagles picked up the early lead once again and never let go of it. Nationally ranked Northwestern would not trail in this set, and completed the incredible task of never trailing throughout the match. The Eagles would win the set 25-15 to complete the sweep of the Yellowjackets.

Tonight marked the coming out party for the freshman, Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford). Schmidt had the best match of her young career so far, tallying 11 kills and making an impact at the net with three blocks. Perhaps the most impressive stat of Schmidt's night was the .588 hitting percentage she put on display.

The future appears to be bright for the Eagles as another freshman had a big game as well. Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) continued her historic freshman season as she led UNW with 13 kills, seven digs, and three serving aces.  

Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) continues to add to her impressive resume as she had 44 assists on the night to set the Eagles' offense up for success all night long. She also contributed defensively with 13 digs.

Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) (16 digs), Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) (9 kills, 10 digs), Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) (8 kills, 9 digs), and Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) (7 kills, 4 blocks) also turned in strong performances.

The Eagles will have a chance to clinch the UMAC Regular Season title tomorrow as they play two matches facing Northland at home and North Central on the road.