BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The University of Northwestern Volleyball team was brimming with anticipation as it embarked on the program's 15th NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Tournament appearance Thursday afternoon on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. A win would give Northwestern 20 NCAA Tournament wins, all coming after 2011. The Eagles faced a familiar opponent as well in St. Olaf College, who they defeated in five sets in September's KTIS Classic at the Ericksen Center. But Head Coach
Beth Wilmeth warned her team all week that the November Oles were much better than the September Oles, and she was proven correct. St. Olaf stormed back to win set one after trailing 21-15, out-scoring UNW 63-34 from that point on to sweep the Eagles and end their season. Northwestern finishes 2025 with a 23-8 record.
UNW scored the match's opening two points on kills by
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph), appearing ready for the moment thanks to prior tournament experience. The pair each added another kill and
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) joined the scoring with a kill and a solo block, making the score 8-6 in favor of the Eagles.
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) each tallied a kill and combined for a block, while
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) contributed an ace to extend the lead to 14-9, much to the delight of the well-traveled Northwestern fans in the Shirk Center. A 5-1 run featuring kills from Wyatt, Jarchow and setter
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove), plus an
Ella Bourne (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) ace, made it 19-12, and it seemed like UNW had the opener all but wrapped up. Jarchow and Egge each added another kill to make it 21-15, but the Oles woke up and began to chip away, scoring four-consecutive points. Bourne stopped the bleeding for a moment with a heady skip set to the back row for a kill, but St. Olaf was eventually able to tie the set at 23. Northwestern had three set points, one courtesy of an Egge kill and another courtesy of a Jarchow kill, but St. Olaf fought them off each time, and eventually scored three-straight to steal the set, 28-26.
UNW never seemed to recover after the devastating first-set loss. After the Oles took a 5-2 lead early in set two, the Eagles did manage to score six of the next eight thanks to a pair of Wyatt kills. Two Jarchow kills, one from Egge and another Bourne ace had Northwestern in front at 13-12, but St. Olaf delieverd the death blow, rattling off 12-consecutive points to force set point at 24-13. Aune and
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) teamed up for a block to break up the run, but the Oles slammed the door shut on the very next point to win, 25-14.
With all the momentum in the world on its side, St. Olaf darted out to a 7-1 lead in the third set, and extended it to 11-3 despite one kill apiece from Jarchow and Egge. Back-to-back Jenniges aces gave the Eagles a glimmer of life at 11-6, but the Oles went streaking again, scoring 13 of the next 14, broken up only by an Egge kill, to force match point. To its credit, Northwestern battled until the bitter end, going on an 8-0 tear with nothing left to lose. Jarchow had two kills and two blocks in the sequence, Olsen one and one, Aune three-consecutive blocks and
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) an ace. St. Olaf finally was able to find that elusive final point, finishing off the sweep with a 25-15 win to eliminate UNW from the big dance.
Jarchow had 10 kills and two blocks in her NCAA Tournament debut, while Wyatt, Olsen and Egge each chipped in five kills. Aune tallied five blocks in the final game of her legendary career, while fellow senior Bourne closed out her time in purple with two aces. Jenniges also logged two aces adding 25 assists and eight digs, while Paplow and Rich both contributed one ace apiece. Rich also chipped in eight digs, while Moravchik led Northwestern in the category with 10.
The Eagles say goodbye to three seniors,
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy),
Ella Bourne (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) and
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids), who had an incredible four-year run at UNW. The trio finish their careers with a 113-25 overall record, a 43-1 UMAC record, a Final Four appearance and an Elite Eight appearance. Their work and dedication to their team and their Savior will not be forgotten!
