ST. PAUL, Minn.- #4 University of Northwestern Volleyball stayed perfect in conference play on Saturday as they picked up a pair of UMAC wins inside the Ericksen Center. The Eagles swept Wisconsin-Superior (25-11, 25-17, 25-20) in the first half of the doubleheader and followed that up with a sweep of Northland (25-4, 25-15, 25-14) in the nightcap. The Eagles improved to 21-3 overall and 9-0 in UMAC play. The Eagles have won all 27 sets they have played against UMAC opponents this season as they have yet to drop a set in a conference match.
Game One: Wisconsin-Superior
The Eagles finished off the regular season sweep of the Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets on Saturday with a 3-0 win. The Yellowjackets are currently in third place in the UMAC standings as the Eagles are sitting in first place with an undefeated conference record. The Eagles and the Jackets met in the UMAC Postseason Tournament Championship Game a year ago.
The Eagles hit .261 in the contest and the Yellowjackets countered with a hitting percentage of .082. The Eagles had 43 kills as a team and the Jackets had 25. UNW had a remarkable nine aces in the game, led by
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) who had five serving aces on her own.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) led a balanced offensive attack for the fourth ranked team in the country. She finished with 12 kills and 12 digs.
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) had nine kills on a .450 hitting percentage and was a force at the net finishing with six total blocks. She had two serving aces.
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) hit .412 and finished with nine kills as well. She had two total blocks.
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) was another Eagle with an incredible hitting percentage, picking up 6 kills by hitting .417.
Schroyer had nine digs to go along with her strong serving numbers.
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) and
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) each had eight digs.
Hannah Gadient (Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue) finished with 19 assists and
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) had 17.
Game Two: Northland
UNW had just over two hours between their games on Saturday, but they still looked fresh as they came out and defeated the Lumberjills 3-0 to finish off the season series sweep.
The Eagles' numbers as a team were staggering in the contest. Their offense hit .327 while their defense held the Jills to a -.027 hitting percentage. Northwestern finished with 47 kills and Northland finished with 14.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) had another double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs.
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) hit .412 and finished with eight kills, three blocks, and an ace.
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) had seven kills and three total blocks.
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) finished with six kills and two blocks.
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) turned in a big performance finishing with 25 assists and three aces.
Hannah Gadient (Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue) ended with 10 assists.
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) led the Eagles defensively with 17 digs.
Ella Bourne (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) and
Ashley Hinrichs (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) added eight digs apiece.
Up Next
The Eagles are in the middle of a stretch that consists of a lot of UMAC matchups. The Eagles will travel to New Ulm for a conference matchup with Martin Luther at 7:00pm on Tuesday, October 24
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