PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The No. 4 University of Northwestern Eagles took on the No. 2 Juniata College Eagles in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Semifinals on Thursday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. UNW gave everything they had in their second Final Four appearance in program history, but eventually fell 3-1 to Juniata.
 
In the opening set, Northwestern jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. Juniata rallied to score seven points in a row to take the lead 9-2. UNW answered with two points to tie it up, but Juniata responded with a four-point run to go up 13-9. Northwestern tied the set again at 13-13, but Juniata once more responded with four points in a row, going up 17-13. UNW made it 18-15, but Juniata then went on to win the final seven points of the set consecutively to go up 1-0.
 
Juniata went up 3-0 to start the second set, but Northwestern responded with a 7-0 run. UNW worked their way to a 16-12 lead, but a four-point Juniata run evened the set at 16-16. The two teams traded points to 19-19 until a Juniata ace put them up 20-19. The two teams traded points again until 22-21, at which point Northwestern rattled off four consecutive points to win the set 25-22 and tie the match up at 1-1.
 
Set three saw Juniata use an 11-2 run to take a 15-5 lead over UNW. Northwestern would keep fighting, but Juniata eventually took the set 25-11.
 
UNW took a 4-3 lead in the fourth set, but Juniata used a five point run to go up 8-4. UNW answered with a six-point run to take a 10-8 lead. Northwestern then took four of the next six to increase their lead to 14-10. Juniata started to steadily rally and used a three-point run to pass up UNW 18-17. Northwestern tied it up at 19-19, but a three-point run put Juniata up 22-19. UNW answered with three in a row to tie the set at 22-22. Juniata proceeded to take the next two to reach match point up 24-22. Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) fired one more kill for the season to get Northwestern within one point, but Juniata got the final kill to take the set 25-22, the match 3-1, and to advance to the NCAA Championship Final on Saturday.

Glanzer led the way with 14 kills for Northwestern. Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) led UNW with seven aces and 21 digs. Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) had a team-high five total blocks. Felicia Luther (Victoria, Minn./Southwest Christian) led the UNW setters with 15 assists in the match.
 
No. 4 Northwestern finished the 2022 season with a 34-3 record, winning 91.9 percent of their matches to set a new program record. The Eagles swept their conference matches 14-0 to win their 12^th consecutive UMAC Regular Season Championship and 15^th in the last 16 years. UNW then went on to win the UMAC Tournament Championship, their fourth consecutive and 10^th in the last 11 years. Against UMAC opponents, the Eagles went 48-0 in sets played to set a program and conference record. Northwestern was then selected to host the a regional for the NCAA Championship, which the Eagles won to earn their second NCAA Regional Championship in program history. UNW went on to follow in the footsteps of the 2016 NCAA Regional Championship team (34-5) by not only making it to the Elite Eight but winning the NCAA Championship Quarterfinal to advance to the Final Four.