ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saturday's Faith Radio Triangular marked the final regular season volleyball tournament in the Ericksen Center in 2024. The University of Northwestern Volleyball team hosted some of the elite NCAA Division III programs in its building this fall, as was the case on Saturday. The two matches Northwestern played produced polar opposite results, as the No. 13 Eagles were swept in the morning match by No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, before closing the tournament by sweeping St. Catherine University.
Game One: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans
The opening game of the event featured Northwestern taking on its third AVCA top five opponent of the season in the fifth-ranked UW-Oshkosh Titans. The Eagles and Titans squared off last season on a neutral court and produced a five-set thriller, but unfortunately for the UNW faithful in attendance, the home team was not able to keep the 2024 edition as close. Northwestern grabbed an early 4-3 lead before Oshkosh took advantage of some Eagle errors to move ahead, 8-5. The rest of the set would go back-and-forth with neither team able to create much breathing room until a 5-1 Titans run gave them a 23-17 edge. UNW took the next two points, including a marathon point that concluded in a rare kill for setter
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove), but UWO scored two of the final three points and claimed set one by a 25-20 score.
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) finished the opening set with four kills, while
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) added three apiece.
Set two began the same way as the opener, as neither team could create much separation. Schmidt, Glanzer,
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) all picked up multiple kills in the early goings, as Northwestern was able to use a 3-0 spurt to tie the set at 16. The next three points went the way of the Titans, but the Eagles responded with a 5-1 surge, featuring a pair of Aune kills, to take the lead, 21-20. A block by Wyatt and fellow freshman
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) made it set point for UNW, but UW-Oshkosh was able to win the next two point to tie the set at 24-all, and ultimately won it, 27-25.
Northwestern was unable to find much momentum after the heartbreaking second set loss. Oshkosh raced out to a 4-0 advantage in set three, but the Eagles were able to push back with three straight of their own. After that, it was all UWO as the visitors used an 8-0 run to take a commanding, 20-8 lead. Despite three kills each from Glanzer and Schmidt in the final set, No. 5 UW-Oshkosh won it by a 25-12 margin to complete the sweep of No. 13 Northwestern.
Schmidt's .588 hitting percentage and 10 kills led UNW, and Glanzer followed with nine and 10 digs.
Mikayla Wilber's (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) 24 digs were a game-high by a wide margin, and Wyatt led the team with two blocks.
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) and Jenniges finished with 19 and 15 assists, respectively.
Game Two: St. Catherine University Wildcats
The finale of the Faith Radio Triangular held a much different fate for the UNW Volleyball squad. The Eagles asserted their dominance from the jump, racing out to a 10-3 lead on the backs of
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) and
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy), who each pounded home a trio of kills. The lead stretched to 13-4 after an Aune ace and a kill by
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian). A 5-0 Northwestern surge which included kills from Wyatt,
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) made it 18-6. St. Catherine chipped away slightly, but
Ari Schmidt (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) hammered a kill to close out a dominant opening set for UNW, 25-15.
Set two belonged to Northwestern as well, as the home team jumped ahead 7-3 early, getting contributions from nearly everyone who touched the floor. The lead ballooned to 12-5 thanks to a Wyatt kill and an
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) ace. The Eagles then put together an 8-1 run that featured three Glanzer kills, and the rout was on at 21-9. Another Wyatt kill (her third of the set) sealed the 25-13, second set win for UNW.
After the Eagles won the first three points of the third set, it appeared they would cruise to an easy sweep. The Wildcats, however, weren't in the business of rolling over, as they scored five of the next six points to take the lead. A 6-0 run a short time later put them ahead 15-12, which became 19-16 as the teams traded points. Two Wyatt kills were part of a 3-0 UNW run to even the score at 19, but St. Catherine was able to edge back ahead, 22-20. Another 3-0 run by the hosts put them back in front, 23-22, but St. Kate's punched right back with two straight to go ahead, 24-23. Northwestern apparently decided at that point it was ready to call it a weekend, as the Eagles finished off the match with kills from Glanzer and Schmidt, and a
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) ace to cap off the sweep with a tight, 26-24 win in set three.
Schmidt and Glanzer tallied 10 and 11 kills in the match, respectively, with the latter adding seven digs. Wyatt finished with eight kills, while Aune put up six kills, two aces and a game-high five blocks. Egge also logged six kills. Jenniges dished out 18 assists and dug out 13 Wildcat attacks, while Strickfaden added 15 assists.
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) led all players with 19 digs and
Ella Bourne (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) finished with 10.
Up Next
After nearly a month of home tournaments to start the season, Northwestern will finally hit the road for the first time next Saturday (September 28
th), and will double dip at that. The Eagles will begin the day with a 1:00 PM match at Bethany Lutheran before heading to Martin Luther for a 5:00 PM tilt. Both games will be streamed on the UMAC Sports Network.
