ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saturday was another efficient day for the No. 22 University of Northwestern Volleyball team. The Eagles earned their third consecutive sweep after downing Martin Luther College 3-0 inside the Ericksen Center. Northwestern (18-8, 10-1 UMAC) has now clinched a spot in the upcoming UMAC Volleyball Tournament and currently sits alone in first place in the conference following UW-Superior's loss at Minnesota Morris on Friday night.
Martin Luther was able to keep things close early in set one despite two kills apiece from
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) and
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian), as well as aces from
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) and
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North). A Glanzer kill gave UNW a 12-6 lead, but the Knights were able to trim the deficit to three. The Eagles responded with a 5-1 run highlighted by two
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) kills to extend the lead to 17-10. MLC once again rattled off three straight points, but Northwestern scored the next five, capped off by another Rich ace, to seize control at 22-13. A
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) kill gave UNW a 25-18 win in the opening set.
Set two was tight early as well, but a 6-1 surge from the home team that included back-to-back Wyatt kills put it ahead, 12-6. The lead grew to 20-11 as Egge and Aune teamed up for a pair of blocks, and a 5-0 run closed out a 25-13, second set win.
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) and
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) had kills down the stretch and Aune blocked an MLC attack to finish it off.
The Knights got out hot in the third set, taking a 5-2 lead. Schmidt, Olsen and Aune ignited a 4-0 Northwestern surge to steal the lead back, and a 9-1 run shortly thereafter put the Eagles back in command. Martin Luther was able to cut it to six at 21-15, but UNW rattled off four in a row to close it out, 25-15. Wyatt picked up blocks on the last two points with help from
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls) and Olsen.
Olsen led Northwestern's offensive efforts with 11 kills on .529 hitting while adding three blocks. Aune hit. 462 on her way to seven kills and seven blocks, while Schmidt contributed six kills. Egge and Wyatt both finished with four blocks, with the latter adding five kills as well.
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) had a game-high 18 digs, while Glanzer finished with 11 and two aces. Rich logged two aces as well.
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) and
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) dished out 20 and 15 assists, respectively.
The Eagles will play their fourth home game in a row on Tuesday, November 5
th when they welcome Concordia College (Minn.) to the Ericksen Center. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
