ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of Northwestern Volleyball team welcomed Gustavus Adolphus College to the Ericksen Center, Wednesday night, for its final non-conference tilt of the regular season. Despite coming in with a 10-match winning streak, the 24th-ranked Eagles were unable to overcome a bevy of service aces by the Gusties, and specifically Hannah Baron, who finished the match with seven. Gustavus was able to pull off the road upset with a 25-23, 25-15, 14-25, 25-17 win.
UNW got off to a good start in the opening set, getting a kill and an ace from
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland), as well as an ace from
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian), to race out to an 8-3 lead. GAC was able to survive a pair of
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) kills to tie the score at 13, and bounced back from a 3-0 Northwestern run to even the count at 16 as well. The Eagles answered with the fourth-consecutive 3-0 run between the two squads, using another Weckman ace to gain a 19-16 advantage. With the hosts leading 21-18 after an
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) kill, Gustavus went on a 5-1 tear to surge in front, 23-22. A service error allowed UNW to tie it at 23, but back-to-back Gustie kills left the Ericksen Center crowd stunned as the visitors escaped with a 25-23 win to begin the match.
Gustavus Adolphus was in control from start-to-finish in set two, despite strong play early from
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and
Abbie Brand (Pella, Iowa/Pella). A 7-0 GAC run, highlighted by four Baron aces, put the Gusties in the driver's seat at 15-7, and the margin soon ballooned to double digits at 20-9 after a 5-1 spurt. Olsen tried to will the Eagles back with three late kills, but Northwestern ran out of room, dropping the set, 25-15.
Backs against the wall in an unfamiliar position, the Eagles chose fight instead of flight. Jaeb and
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) each picked up a pair of early kills, and Weckman's third ace of the night put UNW ahead by three. A 5-0 run gave Northwestern an eight-point cushion at 16-8, which came in clutch when it was able to answer a 3-0 spurt by Gustavus with a 7-1 surge to increase the lead to double digits. Egge and Olsen finished off the frame with kills to extend the match with an impressive, 25-14 win.
With plenty of momentum on its side, Northwestern was hopeful to play its second five-set match in five days. The Gusties had other ideas, taking a quick, 8-1 lead in the fourth set. The Eagles attempted to claw back, pulling within four at 13-9 after consecutive kills from Jarchow and Wyatt, but a 7-2 run by GAC gave the guests a 20-11 advantage, all but dashing UNW's hopes. Gustavus Adolphus would go on to finish off the four-set win with a 25-17 win.
Jaeb and Olsen both played well on the right side, with the former logging 10 kills and two blocks on .348 hitting, and the latter eight kills and two blocks while hitting .538. Egge also finished with eight kills, adding a pair of aces, while Wyatt's eight kills were accompanied by three blocks. Brand, who was named UMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, also logged three blocks, and
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) produced a team-high 14 digs, along with two aces. Northwestern put up nine aces itself, five short of Gustavus's total. Three of those came from Weckman, who also dished out 12 assists, and one from Jenniges, who led the team with 22 assists. Moravchik also tallied one ace, in addition to eight digs.
UNW will play two matches this weekend to close out conference play, beginning with Bethany Lutheran at 7:00 PM on Friday.
