ST. PAUL, Minn.- #4 University of Northwestern Volleyball faced a familiar foe on Tuesday night inside the Ericksen Center. The Eagles hosted the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds for the third straight season. The Blugolds won inside the Ericksen Center in 2021 on their way to winning the NCAA Division III National Championship and defeated the Eagles in a five set thriller a year ago. The third time was the charm for the Eagles on Tuesday night. They defeated the Blugolds 3-1 to win their eighth straight match and improve to 12-2 on the season.
The Eagles entered Tuesday night's game having been on an incredible run over the last two weeks. Not only did the Eagles have a seven game winning streak at the start of the night, they also had recorded a sweep of their opponent in five straight contests. The Eagles hadn't lost a set since September 20
th. The Blugolds came into town aware of this fact and were ready to play early on in the match. They won the first set 25-23 and ended the Eagles' streak of consecutive set victories.
The first set was extremely evenly matched with neither team ever having a lead more than four points. The game went back and forth with neither team able to go on an extended run. The second set followed that same script. The Eagles knew they had to respond and avoid falling behind two sets to zero.
Neither team scored more than three consecutive points until the set landed at 15-13 in favor of the Blugolds. The Eagles finally went on an extended run to turn things around. The Eagles scored four straight points which included kills from
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) and
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) and an ace from
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids). The game continued with its seesaw nature as the two teams continued to trade points until the scoreboard said the Eagles led 20-18. UNW used a 5-0 scoring run to put the set away and win 25-18. That scoring run included two kills from
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) (which were put down with such force that the entire campus may have shook) and another from
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian).
Three of the four sets in Tuesday's match were evenly matched and competitive. The only set that was lopsided was set three. UNW jumped out to a 9-3 lead and UWEC was never able to recover. The Eagles continued their dominance through the middle part of the set and led 21-11. The Blugolds would get a couple points down the stretch, but the outcome of the set was never in doubt. The Eagles cruised to a 25-15 win to take a 2-1 sets advantage.
In the fourth set, the contest went back to being extremely evenly matched. This time, with their backs now against the wall needing to win to extend the match, it was the Blugolds who jumped out to an early lead, 5-1. Eau Claire was in good shape, leading 11-7, before they fell victim to one of those patented Eagle runs that other teams have seen used against them. UNW scored a remarkable six points in a row to turn their four point deficit into a two point lead. However, the Blugolds responded and showed why they have been a perennial powerhouse in recent years as well. They scored back to back points to tie the game 13-13. The fourth set would remain close as UNW was clinging to a 19-17 lead.
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) would pick up two kills,
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) would record one as well, and
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) would dial up a serving ace on their way to a 5-0 run to grab a stranglehold of the contest. Eau Claire would pick up a point, but it wasn't enough as another kill from Schmidt ended the set 25-18 and the match 3-1.
The Eagles' offense was led by a five-headed monster of
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian),
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford),
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls),
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy), and
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland). Glanzer finished the game with 18 kills and seven digs. Schmidt hit a percentage of .400 on her way to 16 kills. Brown did it all and finished with nine kills, three blocks, and three digs.
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) had seven kills and three aces. Moravchik added seven kills of her own. Those five players combined for 57 of the Eagles' 60 kills on the night.
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) put on a defensive clinic in the contest. The senior libero finished with 31 digs and added three assists.
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) had 13 digs.
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) had 32 assists and
Hannah Gadient (Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue) added 17.
It is Northwestern's Homecoming week, and #4 UNW Volleyball will be busy all week long. They have four matches left to play this week with their next two coming on Friday, October 6
th. The Eagles will host Crown College at 4:00pm and Wartburg College at 7:00pm.
