ST. PAUL, Minn.- #15 UNW Volleyball began their NCAA Division III Tournament run on Thursday afternoon as they squared off against Illinois Wesleyan University. The Eagles from Northwestern entered the game as the #2 seed at the UW-Eau Claire regional and boasted a 29-3 record on the season. The Titans from Illinois Wesleyan entered the regional as the #7 seed and had a 19-12 record on the year. The Eagles won their 30
th game of the season, sweeping the Titans 3-0. The Eagles advanced to the second round of the NCAA National Tournament.
UNW got off to a hot start in the match, putting up a strong performance in the first set. The Eagles led 9-7 when
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) would take over serving duties. Hardy would lead the Eagles on a run that would put them in control in the match's opening set. UNW scored six straight points and took a 15-7 lead. The Titans would show some fight late in the set, scoring five straight points of their own, but it would not be enough. Northwestern would win the first set 25-20.
The Eagles followed up their opening set win with another strong performance in set number two. The Titans jumped out to a 3-2 lead, but the Eagles tied the game and would not trail for the remainder of the set. The turning point for UNW was a 6-0 run that would turn a 13-10 lead into a 19-10 lead.
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) was doing the serving during this stretch. The Eagles would win the second set in convincing fashion, 25-15.
The fans who attended or watched this game online will remember the third set. The third, and final, set was the type of dramatic, back-and-forth set that should be expected in the NCAA National Tournament. The Titans showed a lot of fight as they did not want their season to come to a close. The Eagles led 7-2 early on and appeared to be on their way to a sweep. However, Illinois Wesleyan responded with a remarkable 11-0 run to take a 13-7 lead. The Titans would remain in the lead for a majority of the set, even holding a 23-19 lead over the Eagles late in the set. The Eagles showed some fight of their own and tied the game at 25 after an
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) kill. The game would go back and forth and refused to end, until
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) delivered the nail in the coffin. The junior delivered an ace on a beautiful serve and the Eagles would win 32-30 to complete the first round sweep.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) was tremendous in her first ever NCAA National Tournament game. The freshman led the way for the Eagles' offense with 15 kills, and chipped in defensively coming away with 11 digs.
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) and
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) were threats offensively as well, as they each finished the afternoon with 10 kills.
Newly crowned UMAC Player of the Year,
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY), had a major impact for UNW. The senior had 40 assists for the Eagles (adding to her program record for assists in a career) and finished with 9 digs.
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) was the anchor for the Eagles defense once again (the junior was named UMAC Defensive Player of the Year for her performance in 2021) as she finished with 20 digs.
The win in the first round means the Eagles' season will continue as they advance to the second round of the National Tournament that will be played at 4:30 P.M. tomorrow afternoon (November 12
th). The Eagles are awaiting their opponent as they will face the winner of Hope-Whitworth. Updates on the Eagles' National Tournament run can be found on unweagles.com.
