ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 17 nationally ranked University of Northwestern volleyball team opened their conference schedule with a pair of 3-0 sweeps at home on Saturday against the Minnesota Morris Cougars (25-22, 25-14, 25-18) and North Central Rams (25-9, 25-21, 25-7). With the wins, UNW improved to 11-2 on the season to go along with the perfect 2-0 start in conference.
 
The Eagles started strong out the gate in their first set against Morris, winning the first five points of the match. The Cougars settled in, however, and battled to take a 12-11 lead. UMM fought their way to a 22-18 lead late in the set, but the Eagles flipped a switch and rattled off seven consecutive points to take the set 25-22.
 
In the second, the Eagles continued their run with another 5-0 start, bringing their run to 12-0 from the previous set. Northwestern led by as many as 13 points with a 16-3 lead in the set, and closed it out 25-14 to send the match to set three.
 
The third set was a back-and-forth battle as the first was, with no team leading by more than two points until the Eagles took an 18-15 lead. UNW went up 20-15 on a five-point run, and proceeded to take five of the next eight points to win both set and match, completing the 3-0 sweep to open conference play.
 
Caitlyn Pruis (Sioux Falls, SD./Sioux Falls Christian) was a force up front for the Eagles, hitting .500 with 10 kills and adding three total blocks. Reigning AVCA, NCCAA, and UMAC Player of the Week Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) led Northwestern with 13 kills on .310 hitting and added 11 digs for a double-double. Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) led UNW with 34 assists and Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) had a team-high 17 digs.
 
Northwestern continued their success in the following match against the Rams. The Eagles took control early on, using runs of 6-0 and 13-2 to power their way to a 25-9 opening set win.
 
The second set was far more closely contested. North Central held a 16-14 lead midway through the set, and neither team led by more than three points until the very last point of the set when a Schwitters service ace gave the Eagles the 25-21 set win.
 
In the third, UNW jumped out to a 9-5 lead before going on an incredible 16-2 run to close out the set 25-7 and win the match.
 
Against the Rams, Glanzer led the Eagles with 11 kills on .455 hitting. Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) had three total blocks and added six kills on .545 hitting. Schroyer again led UNW in digs with 13 while Schwitters again had the team-high assist count with 23.
 
As a team, the Eagles hit .369 against the Rams while holding North Central to a -.032 hitting percentage.
 
Next up for No. 17 Northwestern is a pair of home matches on Wednesday, September 29. The Eagles take on the Crown Storm in a conference battle at 4:00 p.m. before hosting the St. Olaf Oles for a non-conference matchup starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.