ST. PAUL, Minn.- For the fifth consecutive time, and the 10
th time in the last 11 seasons, the University of Northwestern Volleyball team won the UMAC Postseason Tournament. The Eagles hosted and swept the third seed in the tournament, Wisconsin-Superior, in front of a large Ericksen Center crowd on Saturday night. With the win, the Eagles have punched their ticket to their fourth consecutive NCAA Division III National Tournament (the National Tournament was canceled in 2020, ending the Eagles' streak).
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) was named the UMAC Postseason Tournament MVP for her performance in the semifinal and championship matches. Glanzer had tied two of her teammates for the team lead with eight kills in the three set semifinal match, and it became clear early on in the championship game that Glanzer was going to have a special night and earn her second consecutive UMAC Postseason Tournament MVP award.
Glanzer had an unthinkable 10 kills in the first set alone as the Eagles cruised to a 25-11 opening set victory. The junior, who was named the UMAC Player of the Year earlier in the week, was as equally versatile as she was dominant; picking up kills in the back row as well as the front row. The Eagles hit .563 as a team on their way to taking a 1-0 set lead.
In the second set, the Eagles would hit .346 offensively but it was their defensive effort that led them to a 25-13 set victory. The Eagles held the Yellowjackets to a .037 hitting percentage as it was smooth sailing to a 2-0 lead. Northwestern's defense was so stifling in the second set that they only allowed Wisconsin-Superior to score consecutive points once in the set.
The Eagles were so close that they could taste it in set three, knowing they only needed 25 more points to get back to the National Tournament. However, the Yellowjackets were also clinging onto their season, desperately trying to force at least one more set. With both teams strongly motivated, the third and final set was the closest of the three.
Superior held on to a slim and early 6-5 lead before UNW rattled off six consecutive points thanks to two kills each from
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) and
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford), one kill from
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland), and a Yellowjacket error. The Eagles took a commanding 11-6 lead, but the Yellowjackets refused to go away. The visitors continued to fight and scratch and the Eagles held a small 19-17 lead as set three entered the late stages. Moravchik sandwiched a Superior error with two kills and UNW led 22-17 thanks to three consecutive points. The Yellowjackets would break up the run with a point, but UNW followed that up with three more consecutive points (two kills from Aune and one from Glanzer) and the Eagles won 25-18. The Northwestern students who had filled up the Ericksen Center on Saturday night stormed the court and celebrated the fact that their school's volleyball team would be one of the 64 that would be playing in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian), the Tournament MVP, led the way with 17 kills, seven digs, two aces, and a hitting percentage of .429.
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) hit .476 on her way to 13 kills.
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) hit .400 and had nine kills, and
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) had seven kills on a percentage of .500.
Hannah Gadient (Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue) and
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) shared the load at the setter position with Gadient finishing with 21 assists and Strickfaden with 19. They each contributed defensively as well with Gadient adding two blocks and Strickfaden finishing with 10 digs.
Marylyn Schroyer (Ft. Collins, Colo./Ft. Collins) finished with a team high 15 digs and added six assists.
The Eagles will now be able to rest and recover on Sunday knowing that their ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament has been punched. On Monday morning, the Eagles will find out where and when they will be playing on the NCAA Selection Show. Updates on the Eagles' postseason run can be found at unweagles.com.
