ST. PAUL, Minn. – After an electric sweep of No. 17 Millikin University on Friday night, the (RV) University of Northwestern Volleyball team faced two more quality opponents on Saturday in the KTIS Classic. The Eagles battled back from a 1-2 deficit to defeat St. Olaf College in five sets before falling to undefeated (RV) University of Dubuque, 1-3.
Match One: St. Olaf College Oles
If you were told after set one that the day's opening match went five sets, you were probably surprised. Northwestern jumped all over St. Olaf, opening up a 10-4 lead. The Oles were able to pull within three, but a 7-1 run led by
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) and
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) put UNW in total control at 19-9. A 5-1 ended the set at 25-12, with
Mikayla Wilber (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) acing the opposition for the final point.
St. Olaf had settled in by the start of the second set, trading points early with the hosts. Northwestern maintained a two-point edge for much of the first half of the set before the Oles ripped off a 9-0 run to seize control and leave the home crowd in disbelief. Despite a couple of late kills by
Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy), UNW was unable to get closer that six points as the visitors tied the match with a 25-18 win.
Undaunted, the Eagles scored six-consecutive points after surrendering the first point of set three to the visitors. The run featured two kills from
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) and a pair of
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) aces. The lead grew to six after a Wilber ace and an
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) kill, but Olaf rattled off five-in-a-row to trim the deficit to one. A
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) ace put Northwestern up 16-12, but the Oles again responded, this time with a 7-1 surge to take the lead. A 4-1 Northwestern spurt put
Beth Wilmeth's squad back in front by one, but St. Olaf went on a 4-1 run of its own to steal the set by a 25-23 margin.
The Oles continued that momentum to a 2-0 lead in the fourth set, but UNW stole it right back with seven straight, thanks to two kills each from Aune and Olsen. A 10-2 run made it 20-9 in favor of the home team as Wyatt, Aune, Egge and Jarchow continued to dominate the net, and Rich and
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) tallied aces. Jarchow added two more kills in the 4-0 run that the Eagles used to close out the set, 25-11.
The tense fifth set began as a back-and-forth affair before Egge took over, racking up three kills in an 8-1 run to put UNW on the brink of victory. Fittingly, the match was ended with a block, as Wyatt and Jarchow teamed up for the winning rejection. The Eagles won the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.
Olsen and Egge finished with 13 kills and two blocks each, while Aune posted a double-double with 12 kills and 10 blocks. Jarchow nearly matched her with 10 kills and eight blocks, while Wyatt finished with nine and eight, respectively. Jenniges also logged a pair of blocks in addition to a match-high 48 assists, 10 digs and an ace. Moravchik led the team with 23 digs and two aces, while Wilber tallied 13 and two, respectively.
Ella Bourne (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) and Rich each logged 12 digs, with the latter sprinkling in a pair of aces.
Match Two: (RV) University of Dubuque Spartans
Despite what the rankings coming into the weekend may have said, UNW's toughest test would be its final one of the weekend: the undefeated Dubuque Spartans. The two heavyweights, playing for just the second time ever, traded blows like prizefighters early on. Jarchow had four kills in Northwestern's first six points, and the Eagles opened up a 10-8 advantage thanks to some help on both sides of the net from Aune. After UD pulled within one at 12-11, the teams traded the next 12 points, leading to an 18-17 edge for the Eagles. An ace from Rich made it 20-17, Eagles, but the Spartans scored eight of the next nine points to take the set, 25-21, and leave the Ericksen Center stunned.
The beginning of the second set was much like the first, as the two squads went back-and-forth. UNW began a stretch of scoring two or three points for every one scored by Dubuque, thanks to more stellar play in the middle from Aune. An 18-11 lead for Northwestern made things look like a wrap for the set, but Sparty had one more run in it. A 7-2 spurt made it 20-18, but Wyatt steadied the ship with three more kills as the Eagles scored five of seven points to tie the match with a 25-20 win.
Despite Aune and Jarchow patrolling the net with much success, the Spartans led 9-5 early in set three. A 5-1 UNW run which featured three Egge kills tied the set at 10, and things remained tight until a 9-1 surge put UD ahead 24-16. Northwestern was able to muster one more kill from Egge before the opposition ended the set, 25-17.
Olsen scored the first point of set No. 4, but the Spartans scored the next five to surge ahead. To UNW's credit, the Eagles responded well, using two kills each from Jarchow and Aune to trim its deficit to one. A 5-1 run for the hosts evened the score at 14, but Dubuque scored the next three and never let it get within less than two for the remainder of the set, winning 25-21 to take the match in four and improve to 8-0.
Egge and Wyatt led the offensive charge with 12 kills apiece, with the latter adding four more blocks. Aune and Jarchow each tallied 11 kills, adding eight and four blocks, respectively. Olsen also blocked four UD attacks in addition to nine kills. Jenniges was sensational once again, finishing with a career-high 49 assists, nine digs and two blocks. Moravchik was once again the digs leader with 18 in addition to an ace, while Rich added 16 digs to go with three aces. Bourne logged 10 digs.
Up Next:
The Eagles will be wheels up to San Antonio, Texas next weekend to participate in the Trinity University Invite. UNW will face two ranked teams over the weekend and will begin play against (RV) Whitworth University at noon on Friday.
