ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Volleyball season has arrived, and in an unusual twist, the (RV) University of Northwestern opened its season on the road Tuesday night, traveling to the College of Saint Benedict. Opting against debuting in this weekend's annual Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational, the Eagles were able to get their legs underneath them before Friday night's showdown with Bethel. A dominant performance on both sides of the net from juniors
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) allowed UNW to cruise to a 25-18, 25-17, 25-10 sweep of the Bennies.
Wyatt was served up a kill from 2025 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) to begin the match, and the Eagles were off and running. Wyatt teamed up with Egge and
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) for early blocks, then Egge rattled off five quick kills to give UNW a 10-5 advantage in set one. Wyatt, Jaeb,
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) joined Egge in finishing at the net, and all of a sudden, Northwestern had doubled CSB's score with a 20-10 lead. A 5-1 run for the home team gave it some life, but Egge and Wyatt finished off the 25-18 opener with a combined three kills.
Already with double-digit kills following set one, Egge got to work in the second with three kills and an ace to open up a 10-3 lead. Saint Ben's was able to shrink the margin to five, but Olsen pushed it to eight with a kill and a block. A 4-0 run moments later, including back-to-back Jarchow kills, put the Eagles in the driver's seat at 21-12, and a pair of Wyatt kills, plus a dagger from Jaeb, gave the visitors the second set, 25-17.
With all the momentum on UNW's side,
Beth Wilmeth's squad kept its foot on the gas to get home at a reasonable hour. Northwestern score nine of the first 10 points of set three, effectively shutting down any hopes of the Bennies extending the match. Wyatt and Egge continued to hammer kills home as a 6-1 run made it 23-9. After a service error got CSB to double figures, Egge and Jenniges executed kills to end the match with a 25-10, third set final.
Egge was unstoppable, setting a new career-high in kills with 21 in just three sets on .514 hitting, adding a pair of blocks and an ace. Wyatt finished with 10 kills on .474 hitting and eight blocks in the middle, while Jaeb tallied five blocks and five kills, hitting .400. Jenniges and
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian) split setting duties, finishing with 20 and 15, respectively. Freshman libero
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) led the Eagles with 19 digs, and
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) followed with 14 and an ace.
Northwestern will return home to host the annual Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational, beginning Friday, September 4th in the Ericksen Center. The tournament is set to begin at 1:00 PM Friday, with the Eagles making their home debut at 6:00 PM against Bethel.
