MINNEAPOLIS - Even on a day in which the 24th-ranked University of Northwestern Volleyball team clinched at least a share of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular season championship, as well as the conference tournament's No. 1 seed, it didn't all come easy. The Eagles were pushed to the brink by the University of Wisconsin-Superior in match one of the day, surviving in five sets to sweep the season series. In the nightcap, UNW made the short drive to North Central University and showed no signs of fatigue, rolling to a 25-7, 25-11, 25-16 sweep.
Match One: University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets (25-18, 23-25, 25-13, 17-25, 15-7)
Riding the high of a big home sweep over (RV) St. Olaf on Wednesday, night, Northwestern came out hot in the opening set of perhaps its biggest conference match of the season, given the implications. Early aces from
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) and
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian), plus a pair of
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) kills, gave the Eagles a 9-4 advantage. Jenniges added a second ace a few points later, and UNW's front row of Egge,
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian),
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne),
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) and
Abbie Brand (Pella, Iowa/Pella) continued to play well on both side of the net. Jarchow finished off the set with a kill, leading to a 25-18 win.
Two
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) aces sparked a 6-0 start to the second set for Northwestern, forcing a UWS timeout. Despite the appearance that another big set win was inevitable, the Yellowjackets had other ideas. Superior began feeding Makenna Hohbein at the net, who finished the match with 19 kills and 25 digs in an incredible showing. The Eagles struggled to come up with answers, despite a strong set, offensively, for
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong). In addition to come outstanding team defense, Hohbein finished the set with eight kills as the Jackets stormed back to win 25-23, leaving the home crowd in shock as UNW's eight-match sweep streak officially came to a close.
Despite the shock of its first conference set loss of the season,
Beth Wilmeth's squad responded well in set three. With clear knowledge that a tough battle was head of them, the Eagles went back to feeding their bigs--Egge, Brand and Jaeb--ultimately opening up a 14-8 lead. An 8-2 run, featuring two kills apiece from Jarchow and Olsen, plus an
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) ace, closed out a dominant set at 25-13.
With momentum on its side, UNW took a 6-3 lead early in its first home fourth set of the season. But to its credit, UW-Superior was determined to fight, and rattled off eight-straight points to surge ahead, 11-6. The margin reached as much as 10 before Olsen tried to will Northwestern back with three kills in a 5-1 stretch. But it was too little, too late as UWS closed out the 25-17 set with a pair of points to force a fifth frame.
Despite not having played a fifth set all season, the Eagles looked composed and determined. Kills from Jaeb and Egge, plus an
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) ace, put the hosts in front, 5-1. Superior was able to close the gap and tie the score at six, but UNW punched back and went on a 9-1 surge to close out the match, 15-7. Egge and Olsen each had two kills in the run, Paplow tallied another ace, and Wyatt sealed the deal with a kill.
Even facing a terrific defensive effort against her, Egge still finished with 15 kills, 14 digs and an ace. Jaeb was the most efficient Eagle, logging 12 kills on .478 hitting, while Olsen tallied 10 kills and two blocks. Jarchow finished with eight kills, and Brand led the way with four blocks. Costello had 19 digs and an ace, while Weckman contributed 18 digs, 21 assists and an ace. Moravchik notched a pair of aces and 10 digs, and Jenniges dished out a match-high 25 assists, to go along with two aces. Paplow also finished with two aces.
Match Two: North Central University (25-7, 25-11, 25-16)
Faced with only an hour and 45 minutes in between the conclusion of the UW-Superior match and the beginning of the North Central match, you wouldn't have guessed there was any fatigue watching UNW in set one of the nightcap in downtown Minneapolis. Egge had four kills to spark the visitors to a 10-2 lead, and a 7-0 run moments later made it 19-4, as
Taylor Dick (Olathe, Kans./Olathe East) logged a pair of kills off the bench and
Maia Marvel (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Maranatha Christian) added an ace. Jenniges aced the Rams three times in-a-row as part of a 6-1 run to close out the 25-7 win in the opener.
Wyatt and Jarchow were cooking early in the second set, but NCU was able to hang tough and evened the score at 9-9. But the Eagles were able to settle in and overpower the Rams to the tune of a 16-2 run to close out the set, 25-11, getting two aces from Moravchik, three from Weckman, and three kills from Jaeb.
An early ace from Paplow helped UNW take an early 5-1 lead in set three, but North Central was able to answer back and knot things up at seven. Three Wyatt kills allowed Northwestern to take a 13-9 edge, but the Rams once again responded, pulling within a point at 14-13. That was the closest things would get the rest of the way, as the Eagles closed out the match with an 11-3 run in which many of their reserves were able to contribute.
UNW hit an efficient .389 as a team, led by Egge, who logged 10 kills and nine digs on .381 hitting. Wyatt hit .429 for nine kills, while Jaeb logged eight kills on .615 hitting. Jenniges tallied 22 assists and three aces, and Weckman finished with 13 assists, three aces and 12 digs. Paplow tied her match-high 12 digs, adding two aces herself, and Marvel also logged a pair of aces.
Rylee Kennedy (Altura, Minn./Lewiston-Altura) also added an ace.
Up Next
Northwestern will have three home matches next week to close out the regular season, beginning with a showdown with Gustavus Adolphus on Wednesday, November 4th at 7:00 PM.
