ST. PAUL, Minn. - Labor Day weekend can only mean one thing on the University of Northwestern campus: an electric volleyball atmosphere at the Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational. The annual event, hosted in honor of late Northwestern Volleyball alumna Kathryne Pals (Engel) and her family, once again features a competitive field this year which includes a pair of teams receiving votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. One of those teams is UNW, who opened its 2025 season playing the nightcap of the tournament's opening day against Bethel University, its rival to the north. While some may have expected the Eagles to look or play differently without its pair of 2024 All-Americans, they looked like the same old
Beth Wilmeth Eagles, riding a loud and passionate crowd to a 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of the Royals.
After Bethel scored the season's opening point, UNW scored the next four, including kills from
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian),
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph).
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) began to heat up shortly thereafter, but the Eagles' lead was only 8-7 until Wyatt went breserk, logging four-consecutive kills to give her team a five-point lead. The Royals answered back with five straight to tie the set at 12-apiece and would go on to take a 16-14 advantage, but two kills each from Egge and
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) put Northwestern back in front by two. Bethel evened the score at 19, but a couple of self-inflicted wounds by the Royals and another Egge kill made it 22-19 in favor of the home team. Two more Wyatt kills and another from Aune closed out the set, 25-21.
BU once again got out of the gates quickly as the second set began, but
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) continued to successfully feed Jarchow at the net. A 5-0 Northwestern surge put Wilmeth's squad in front 9-6, but Bethel continued to battle. A 6-1 spurt highlighted by a pair of Jarchow kills and one from Jenniges made it 18-15 Eagles, and they would hold the lead for the remainder of the set. Egge produced two more kills to go along with one each from Wyatt (who teamed up with Olsen for a block) and Aune to give UNW a 25-22 win in set two and put the Royals on the brink of getting swept.
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) began the third and final set in style with an ace, and a couple of Olsen kills spawned a 5-2 Northwestern edge. BU was able to knot things up at five, but the Eagles punched right back, going on a 5-0 run that ended with a
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) ace. The teams traded points until UNW was able to score back-to-back thanks to a kill and a block (with Aune) by Jarchow. Egge, Wyatt and Jarchow continued to punish the Royals at the net as Northwestern kept them at an arm's length. The match ended with an emphatic Aune block at the net, giving her 397 for her career, most among active Division III players. The third-set win was UNW's largest of the night (25-19).
Jarchow paced the Eagles' offense in her first career start with a match-high 12 kills, while Egge (.348 hitting) and Wyatt (.444) each added two. Wyatt also tallied two blocks, while Aune logged three to go along with her six kills.
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland), wearing the libero jersey for the first time, led the team with 16 digs, while
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) contributed 11. Jenniges dished out a match-high 35 assists.
Northwestern will play a pair of matches on Saturday to close out the Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational. The Eagles will face (RV) Coe College at 11:00 AM, followed by UW-River Falls at 1:30 PM. Both games can be streamed on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
If you would like to participate in UNW Volleyball's 'Aces for Joy' campaign to support global missions in honor of Kathryne Pals' legacy, fill out the pledge card here.
