ST. PAUL, Minn. – The final day of the regular season was a busy one for the 22
nd-ranked University of Northwestern Volleyball team. Among the day's activities: a road match, a 45-minute drive back to campus for a home match a few hours later, a celebration of a legendary senior class and, oh yeah, a quest for a 14
th-consecutive regular season conference championship. Northwestern needed to win one of Saturday's two games to share the title, while winning both would give it the solo crown.
Beth Wilmeth's squad opted for the latter, sweeping both Crown College and North Central University to finish the regular season 22-8 overall and 13-1 in the UMAC, while adding some more hardware to the crowded trophy case in the Ericksen Center.
Match One: Crown College Polars
No. 22 UNW showed no signs of overlooking Crown with senior night and a potential trophy presentation looming.
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph),
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) each notched two kills as the Eagles sprinted to a 15-2 lead in the opening set in St. Bonifacius.
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) tallied four kills in the set as Northwestern rolled to a 25-8 win.
The Eagles kept their foot on the gas as the second set began. Brown and Egge logged three kills each, while Schmidt added two in a 10-2 start. The Polars were able to trim the lead to 13-7, but a 4-0 run capped off by a
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) ace kept the visitors in control at 17-7.
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) added an ace and
Taylor Dick (Olathe, Kans./Olathe East) picked up a pair of kills as UNW took the second set, 25-16.
The third set more closely resembled the first than the second. Schmidt, Egge and Olsen were cooking early and often as the Eagles pulled ahead, 13-3.
Abby Schlabach (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and Brown each added an ace and
Makenzie Anderstrom (Hudson, Wis./New Life Academy) logged a kill as the lead grew to 17-4. Anderstrom notched two more kills as UNW closed the set and match on a 7-1 run, and
Hannah Rich's (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) ace ended it once and for all at 25-7. The sweep meant Northwestern officially locked up the one seed in the upcoming UMAC Volleyball Tournament and clinched at least a share of the regular season title.
As a team, the Eagles hit .434 compared to Crown's .061 and racked up seven aces compared to one. Schmidt paced the offense with eight kills on .571 hitting, while Brown contributed seven kills and three blocks. Egge and Olsen also logged seven kills apiece, with the latter hitting .545. Moravchik finished with a game-high 16 digs and six kills, while Rich and Schlabach added 12 and nine digs, respectively.
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) had a team-high 20 assists, while Strickfaden added 14 and a game-high two aces.
Match Two: North Central University Rams
The nightcap was the match everyone was looking forward to. Before the teams took the court, Northwestern honored the seven seniors in the program, who have produced a 118-20 record and a 55-1 conference record in their four years on campus. The group has also been a part of a Final Four and an Elite Eight team in the past two seasons. Once the flowers were distributed and the tears were shed, it was time to win a conference championship.
Playing at full-strength, No. 22 UNW looked every bit the part of a championship unit. The Eagles got contributions from nearly the entire lineup as they opened up a 7-2 lead in the opening set, capped off by an
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) ace. Two kills each from outside hitters
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) and
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) stretched the advantage to 14-6, and the lead hit double digits after three straight kills from Egge,
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) and
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy). The Rams pulled within seven, but a 7-1 run that included aces from Aune and
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) closed out the opener, 25-12.
Aune, Glanzer,
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) all notched kills early in the second set to give Northwestern an 8-4 edge. The Rams, however, dug deep and found something, going on a tear to take a 14-12 lead and force
Beth Wilmeth to burn a timeout. Whatever was said in the UNW huddle did the trick, as the Eagles immediately rattled off a 9-1 run highlighted by three Glanzer kills. She and Schmidt each added one more in one final burst to the finish line as Northwestern closed out the second set, 25-17.
The third set was back-and-forth early until a 5-1 spurt gave UNW a 10-5 lead. NCU trimmed their deficit to two, but the Eagles found their groove thanks to some attack errors on North Central's part. Glanzer and Schmidt picked up kills in a 4-0 run that stretched the lead to double digits before Schmidt and Egge tallied the final two kills of the set and match, giving Northwestern the outright UMAC crown via a 25-15 set win and another conference sweep.
Glanzer was terrific, hitting .440 on her way to 11 kills and 11 digs. Schmidt (eight kills) hit .400, while Egge (seven kills) hit .357. Wyatt logged six kills and a game-high two blocks, while Wilber contributed eight digs. Moravchik led all servers with three aces, while Jenniges and Strickfaden doled out 19 and 16 assists, respectively.
The Eagles and Rams will see each other again soon, as they will face off in the UMAC Semifinals on Wednesday night in the Ericksen Center. First serve is slated for 7:00 PM and will be available on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
