MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Saturday was a day of celebration for the 12
th-ranked University of Northwestern Volleyball team. The Eagles began the day by welcoming back alumni for its Homecoming match, which resulted in a dominant sweep of Northland College. They closed the day by celebrating
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford), who notched her 1,000
th-career kill in a road sweep over North Central University. The two sweeps extended Northwestern's UMAC sweep streak to 38 consecutive matches, and its conference winning streak to 70.
Match One: Northland College LumberJills
It was apparent from the opening serve that No. 12 UNW was prepared for the morning match against Northland.
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) served up five aces in the Eagles' 10-0 run to begin the game The lead grew to 17-4 as
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) added an ace of her own, and Northwestern would go on to win the opening set, 25-12.
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) racked up three kills in the opener.
Schmidt got more involved in set two, needing 15 kills to reach the aforementioned milestone. She picked up two of them early in the set to open up a 4-0 UNW lead. A 6-1 Eagle run made it 12-3, and the margin grew to as many as 13 in the set.
Taylor Dick (Olathe, Kans./Olathe East) and
Abby Schlabach (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) got in on the action, contributing with kills to give Northwestern a 25-12 win in set two.
The LumberJills scored the first two points of the third set, but UNW took 11 of the next 12, helped by three kills apiece from Schmidt and
Makenzie Anderstrom (Hudson, Wis./New Life Academy). The Eagles extended the lead to 10 at 20-10 after Schmidt hammered three more kills to the Ericksen Center floor, and
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) two. A 4-0 run finished off by another Anderstrom kill closed out the set, 25-11, and the match, 3-0. Northwestern has now won 29 consecutive matches against Northland, dating back to 2008.
Schmidt's 10 kills were a game-high, and she hit an astonishing .714 in the process. Egge added eight kills, while Brown, Anderstrom and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) each chipped in five. Wyatt also led all players with three blocks. Moravchik's five aces were a game-high, as were
Hannah Gadient's (Goodhue, Minn./Goodhue) 27 assists. Wilber logged a game-high 10 digs, and Moravchik added eight.
Match Two: North Central University Rams
Northwestern's second match of the day was a highly-anticipated one across the UMAC. North Central entered Saturday 5-0 in the UMAC and 13-2 overall before suffering its first conference loss to UW-Superior in a Saturday morning match. UNW entered the 4:00 PM tilt 10-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The Rams had all the momentum early, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before the Eagles finally got on the board via a service error. A 5-0 run briefly gave Northwestern the edge, but NCU scored three straight to go back in front, 10-8. Another 5-0 UNW spurt put the visitors ahead, 14-11, and they did not give up the lead for the remainder of the set. Schmidt contributed to the final three points of the set with a kill, a block, and another kill, to give Northwestern a 25-19 win.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair early. In the midst of a 4-0 Eagle run, Schmidt picked up her fifth kill of the match, which was also the 1,000
th of the All-American's career. NCU used a 3-0 run to trim the deficit to one, but UNW responded with an 8-1 run that included aces by Moravchik and Wilber. Egge and
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) each tallied a kill and a block down the stretch, and Moravchik finished off the set with a kill to take it by a 25-17 score.
Schmidt continued to pace the Eagles' attack in set three with some help from Aune, Wyatt, Egge and Olsen. A 7-1 run blew the set open, giving Northwestern an 18-9 lead. UNW's fearsome foursome continued to shine on both sides of the net, and it was Wyatt who closed out the Rams, scoring the 24
th point with a kill and the 25
th and final one with a block. Northwestern improved to 50-0 against North Central all-time with the sweep.
It was only fitting that Schmidt led the way in kills on her big day, tallying 10 on .561 hitting to go along with five blocks. Egge added nine, while Olsen and Moravchik added six apiece. Moravchik also logged 11 digs. Wilber had a game-high 15 digs while Hanna Rich finished with 11. Wyatt led all players with six blocks, and Olsen and Aune each chipped in with four.
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) finished with a game-high 22 assists, while
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) added 14.
Up Next
The No. 12 Eagles will dip back into non-conference play for a mid-week match at UW-Eau Claire. Opening serve is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Wednesday night.
