ST. PAUL, Minn.- The stage was set for a remarkable night inside the Ericksen Center on Tuesday. The large Eagle crowd was participating in a "Gold Out", senior
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) was 31 assists away from cracking the 4,000 mark for her career, and the game featured two teams ranked in the national top 25. The night lived up to the hype. The Eagles crowd was loud, Schwitters eclipsed 4,000, and #7 Wartburg defeated #16 Northwestern in a five set battle that was tight throughout.
It became clear from the beginning that this match between two of the top teams in the country was going to be tightly contested all night long. The first set saw the two teams play to a 8-8 tie before Wartburg took a 10-8 lead. The game went back and forth until the Knights had a 14-12 lead. This was when the Eagles made their move. Three straight points featuring a kill from
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) and an ace (another tally for the Eagles'
Aces For Joy fundraiser) from
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) saw Northwestern take a 15-14 lead. The Knights would answer with three straight points of their own, going back on top 17-15. Led by Straub once again, Northwestern stormed back with five straight points and the Eagles would remain on top to take a 25-20 set one victory.
The Knights showed why they are ranked #7 in the country as they responded in a big way in the second set. The visitors would jump out to a 6-1 lead, and would not trail again for the remainder of the set.
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) took the serve for the Eagles late in the set and UNW fought back, but it was not enough as the second set went to Wartburg, 25-20.
The third set was when this game started to turn into a classic battle between two top teams. The set featured many long volleys, and the atmosphere inside the Ericksen Center became electric. Neither team would lead by more than three points for the entire set as the game went back and forth. Trailing 18-17 late,
Caitlyn Pruis (Sioux Falls, SD./Sioux Falls Christian) took the serve for Northwestern. Behind Pruis' serving, the Eagles would score four straight points (thanks to kills from
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) and
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls)). The Eagles had a 23-22 lead late in the set, but the Knights were able to claw and scratch their way to three hard fought points to win the set 25-23, and take a 2-1 lead.
Spurred on by one of the loudest crowds of the season so far, the Eagles refused to go away in set four. Northwestern trailed 10-8 before
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) took over serving duties. The freshman had an ace, and
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) and
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) added kills to lead UNW on a 4-0 run to go up 12-10. The Eagles would not surrender the lead for the rest of the set. UNW would go on to win the fourth set 25-21, and to nobody's surprise, this battle went to a fifth and final set.
Similar to the rest of the match, the fifth set went back and forth. Long volleys continued to be the theme as both of these top ranked teams fought for the important win. Wartburg took a slim 11-10 lead late into the set. Following a timeout, it was a 4-0 run from the Knights that ended the set and the match. #7 Wartburg remained undefeated, moving to 20-0 on the season. #16 Northwestern fell to 15-3, with all three of their losses coming to teams that are currently ranked top 15 in the country.
The star of the night was
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY). The senior entered her final season already as one of the most decorated athletes in program history. She has added to that resume this season, and more specifically, tonight. With an assist early in the fourth set, she became only the third player in UNW Volleyball history to eclipse the 4,000 career assist mark. Christine Engel ('02) and Krista Stoltz ('13) are the other two players to reach that mark. Schwitters ended the night with 48 assists, putting her career total at 4,017. The all-time record is held by Engel, who finished her legendary career with 4,469.
Schwitters was not the only Eagle who turned in an impressive performance on Tuesday night. Reigning UMAC Defensive Player of the Week
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) led the Eagles defensively once again, tallying 36 digs. Offensively, it was a three headed monster for Northwestern.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) had 22 kills,
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) had 19, and
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) had 16. Glanzer and Straub had double-doubles, as Glanzer added 24 digs and Straub had 10.
The Eagles will have a busy weekend as they play against Wisconsin-Superior on Friday, October 8
th, and Northland on Saturday, October 9
th. These games will be played on the road. These games will be UMAC conference games for the Eagles, who are currently 5-0 in conference play and have sole possession of first place.
