ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite playing a pair of matches separated by four hours, Saturday ultimately proved to be a quick and easy day for the University of Northwestern Volleyball team. The Eagles began the day with a much-anticipated home showdown with second-place Bethany Lutheran College and concluded with UNW welcoming Crown College to the Ericksen Center. Both resulted in sweeps of varying degrees as Northwestern improved to 14-6 on the season and 6-0 in UMAC competition.
Match One: Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
The first match of the day was one of the more anticipated ones in the UMAC season to this point, as Northwestern (4-0) and Bethany Lutheran (4-1) came into the bout a combined 8-1 in conference play. However, the Eagles seemed determined to not sleepwalk through the early afternoon start and set the tone from the jump.
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) logged three kills and an ace as the Eagles opened up a 12-4 lead which included a 7-0 run. After a timeout, BLC woke up and rattled off six straight points to claw its way back into things before UNW was able to settle back in thanks to kills from
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian). The Vikings continued to attempt to mount a comeback, but had dug themselves too deep a hole, as kills from Aune,
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and Wyatt closed out a 25-19 win.
Northwestern started off hot in the second set as well, as two more Jarchow kills put UNW ahead 5-1. Egge, Aune and Wyatt continued to succeed at the net as well, as the lead grew to 13-8. A block and a kill from Aune, followed by three more Egge kills, quelled any momentum Bethany had summoned, and an ace from
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) kept it that way. After a brief 3-0 run by the Vikings, Olsen sealed the deal with a kill to close out the second set at 25-20.
The momentum for the purple carried over into set three, as another Paplow ace and a couple of blocks from the Eagles' front line put them ahead 6-1. Egge and Jarchow remained effective on the attack as the margin grew to 12-5, but BLC had one last surge in it, scoring seven of eight points to pull within one. After a timeout by Head Coach
Beth Wilmeth, her team turned it on, going on a 9-1 run to take the wind out of Bethany Lutheran's sails. Paplow's third ace of the match capped off the sequence, and Egge put the finishing touches on the match with a walk-off kill to end the set at 25-17 and give Northwestern another conference sweep.
Egge hit an efficient .400 on her way to a game-high 12 kills, while Aune, Wyatt and Jarchow each finished with eight. The trio also tallied four, three and two blocks, respectively.
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) was tremendous in the back row, logging 16 digs, while
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) finished with 13.
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) passed out a match-high 34 assists in a battle between the top-two setters in the UMAC, and Paplow led the way with three aces while Aune followed suit with one.
Match Two: Crown College Polars
UNW didn't mess around in the nightcap either, sprinting out to an 11-1 lead to start the match. Jarchow had four kills in the surge, while Wyatt and Aune each tallied two and Paplow logged another ace. After three-consecutive points for Crown, Jarchow and Aune revved things back up, continuing to punish the Polars. Wyatt added four more kills and
Taylor Dick (Olathe, Kans./Olathe East) one (as well as two blocks) as part of a 7-0 run to close the set out with a 25-8 score.
To say Northwestern kept its foot on the gas in the second set would be an understatement. Jarchow and Olsen each picked up two early kills and
Ella Bourne (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) added an ace to give the Eagles a 7-1 advantage. The lead skyrocketed to 18-2 when
Ava Van Gorp (St. Paul, Minn./Nova Classical) checked in and tallied a pair of kills, then a flurry of aces slammed the door shut. UNW aced Crown five times in the final six points (three from Aune and two from Jenniges), amounting to seven for the set, taking it by a 25-5 score.
The third set was much more of a battle as the Eagles continued to cycle in every healthy player in uniform. Jarchow continued to excel at the net and Egge added a couple of kills herself. A Rich ace made it 14-10 in favor of Northwestern, and a 5-0 run moments later extended it to 20-13. Aune finished off the match with an emphatic kill, capping off the sweep with a 25-16 win in set three.
The team numbers were staggering; UNW out-scored the Polars 75-29 with 10 aces and a .366 hitting percentage, while out-blocking Crown 6-0. Jarchow produced a match-high 15 kills on .419 hitting, while Aune added 10 with three blocks and three aces. Wyatt hit .700 on her way to eight kills, and Dick was second on the team in blocks with two. Jenniges and
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian) split setting duties, finishing with 26 and 13, respectively. Bourne led the team with 12 digs and Moravchik tallied 11, with additional aces coming from Jenniges (2),
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) (2), Bourne (1), Paplow (1) and Rich (1).
Up Next
After Saturday's double-dip, Northwestern will have six days off before hosting Minnesota Morris at 7:00 PM on Friday, October 24th.
