ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 15 nationally ranked University of Northwestern volleyball team proved that their dynasty is still going strong as the Eagles defeated the University of Minnesota Morris Cougars in a 3-0 sweep on Saturday to win the 2021 UMAC Tournament Championship. The title is the ninth in the past ten years for UNW.
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) led the way for the Eagles, recording 39 assists for a 13.00 per set average. The senior setter was named the UMAC Tournament MVP for her performance, averaging 11.33 assists per set between both playoff games. Schwitters leads all of DIII with 11.38 assists per set, and in the Semifinal game became the program's all-time leader in total assists with over 4,470 in her career.
The Eagle attack was led by
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian), who a team-high 13 kills in the match.
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) followed with 11 kills and added 11 digs for a double-double.
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) hit a team-high .294 with eight kills.
Gabrielle Straub (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) added seven kills and had 11 digs.
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) led the defensive effort for Northwestern, leading the team with 15 digs in the match.
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) was a wall upfront for the Eagles with 5 total blocks in the match.
The first set went relatively smoothly for UNW. The Eagles went up 3-0 out the gate and never lost the lead. Northwestern used a four-point run to go up 9-4, and later had another to go up 19-11. The Cougars battled back, winning eight of the final 14 points and stringing together a run of four when facing set point, but the Eagles' lead was too much to overcome as UNW took the opener 25-19.
Minnesota Morris and Northwestern fought neck and neck in the second set. UNW was able to jump ahead right after the Cougars went up 13-11. At that turning point, the Eagles won five in a row to retake the lead 16-13. Morris once again battled back into it and won two points late to trail UNW by just one at 23-22. Back-to-back kills by the Eagles, however, slammed the door shut as Northwestern took a 2-0 match lead with the 25-22 set win.
The third and final set was once again closely contested. The Cougars used a pair of three point runs to take an 18-16 lead late, looking to extend the match and keep their championship hopes alive. The Eagles, however, finally broke through at that moment by winning the next five points, taking a 21-18 lead. Northwestern got a kill from Straub to reach match point at 24-21. Morris stayed alive with a pair of kills to make it 24-23, needing just one more point to evade the match point. However, Straub once more landed a kill to win the set 25-23, the match 3-0, and ultimately the conference tournament championship for Northwestern.
Up next for the Eagles is the NCAA Tournament, which opens with the regional round towards the end of next week. The Eagles will find out exactly where and when they play next on Monday morning during the NCAA's Selection Show.
