ST. PAUL, Minn. - Playing in perhaps its most important match of the season on Wednesday night, the University of Northwestern Volleyball team rose to the occasion and played nearly flawless. One day after breaking into the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time this season, the 24th-ranked Eagles welcomed (RV) St. Olaf College to the Ericksen Center for a matchup between two of the top teams not only in Minnesota, but the region. Using a 10-1 block advantage, a .364 team hitting percentage and 19 kills from
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian), Northwestern rolled to a 25-10, 25-12, 25-17 sweep of the team that ended its season a year ago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The sweep was UNW's eighth in-a-row and its 16th in 17 wins this season.
The Eagles got off to a hot start in the opening set and never looked back, dominating the first frame from start-to-finish. Three early kills from Egge and two from
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) gave the hosts a 12-4 advantage, and a 10-2 run moments later ended the set at 25-10, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The beginning of set two was much tighter, appearing to be closer to what most expected the match to consist of. But with St. Olaf leading 9-8, Northwestern blitzed the Oles to the tune of 16-consecutive points, throwing the rowdy Ericksen Center crowd into a frenzy. Egge had five kills and a block in the stretch, Jaeb had two kills and a block, and Wyatt chipped in one kill and two blocks. After St. Olaf scored three-straight at match point, setter
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove), who was recognized pregame for achieving her 2,000th-career assist, turned the tables and earned a kill to take the set, 25-12.
Despite all the momentum lying with UNW, the Oles were sharp to begin the third set. Fighting off multiple kills from Egge and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph), the visitors held an 11-9 edge. A 6-1 run gave the Eagles the lead, but St. Olaf was able to knot things back up at 16 until
Beth Wilmeth's squad delivered the final blow. Three
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) kills and three
Abbie Brand (Pella, Iowa/Pella) blocks--one with Olsen and two with
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne)--brought the score to match point at 24-16. After one final point for the Oles, Olsen continued her fantastic third set with the kill shot, finishing off the sweep with a 25-17 win.
In a rare match in which neither team recorded an ace, Northwestern was dominant at the net, hitting .364 and out-blocking St. Olaf 10-1. Egge hit an astounding .529 on 34 attempts to lead the match with 19 kills, and added seven digs. Jaeb contributed seven kills and two blocks on .462 hitting, while Olsen finished with five kills (four of which came in the third set) and three blocks. Brand recorded a match-high and career-high six blocks, and Wyatt chipped in four, with two solos. Jenniges dished out a match-high 17 assists and logged seven digs, while
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian) contributed 11 and 12, respectively.
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) led all defenders with 15 digs, and
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) added nine.
UNW (17-4, 8-0 UMAC) will host UW-Superior on Saturday at 1:00 PM, in a clash of the top two teams in the UMAC standings.
