ST. PETER, Minn. – It's official: the University of Northwestern Volleyball team is on fire. The (RV) Eagles traveled to No. 20 Gustavus Adolphus College on Wednesday on a four-game winning streak that included a road victory over No. 3 UW-Oshkosh, following a four-game skid prior. Facing a tough, "blackout" environment at Gus Young Court, UNW was able to bounce back from a first-set loss to win the next three in dramatic fashion and upset the Gusties on their home floor, thanks in large part to a career night from sophomore
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian).
Gustavus got out of the gates quick to open the match, but Northwestern was able to settle in and keep the first set within a point or two up until a 6-2 stretch from the home team put the Eagles behind, 19-14. The lead grew to 21-15 despite strong play at the net from
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) and
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne). Setter
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) began to feed Egge on the outside, and four kills later, UNW was within a point at 22-21. GAC, however, steadied the ships and closed out the set with three-consecutive kills.
Undeterred, Northwestern came out firing in the second set.
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) picked up two early aces as the visitors raced out to a 5-0 lead, but the Gusties soon evened it up at six. After an Egge kill and an Aune ace put UNW back in front by two, Gustavus ripped off a 5-0 run to seemingly seize momentum back. The Eagles went on a run of their own soon after, scoring six of seven points to move back in front, 15-13. The score remained tight as neither team was able to pull ahead by more than two points the rest of the way. Northwestern's front line of Egge, Jarchow, Aune and Olsen continued to fill up the stat sheet as the two heavyweights were deadlocked at 25-apiece. GAC scored the 26
th point to force a set point, but the Eagles had a little something left in the tank; a Jarchow kill and back-to-back Aune blocks gave UNW a 28-26 leave and left the Gustie backers stunned.
Jarchow's heater continued into the third set, as the sophomore scored Northwestern's first three points of the frame. A 6-0 Eagles surge featuring three Egge kills, plus a kill and two blocks from
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian), gave
Beth Wilmeth's squad a 12-8 advantage, much to the delight of those in purple who made the trek to St. Peter. But volleyball is a game of runs, and Gustavus was no exception, storming back to tie the set at 14. To the surprise of no one after the first two sets, the third was so tight it required extra points. There were five different set points between the two teams before an Egge kill and a Gustavus attack error gave UNW a 29-27 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Neither team was able to gain much separation in set four until a 5-0 Northwestern spurt made it 19-14. But like it had each time, GAC answered back, going on a 5-0 run of its own to even the score. The Eagles punched right back, getting a Wyatt kill and a Jenniges ace to edge in front, 22-19, and closed out the match thanks to some untimely errors by the Gusties. The final set score matched the first of 25-21, with Northwestern coming out on top this time to secure the 3-1 upset win.
UNW's defense may have been the key to the game, as the Eagles racked up 13 blocks compared to just three for the Gusties. There was plenty of offense as well, led by Egge's career-high 20 kills on .364 hitting. Jarchow was rock-solid as well, contributing 13 kills and four blocks, while Olsen added 10 kills. Wyatt and Aune each tallied five blocks and the latter an ace, while Jenniges served up 48 assists and an ace of her own. Moravchik led the way in the back with 24 digs and Rich logged 12, to go along with an ace. Paplow served up a pair of aces and
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) hit double-digit digs with 10.
Northwestern will return to UMAC play, where it is currently 2-0, on Saturday as it travels to Minnesota Morris for a 3:30 PM match.
