ST. PAUL, Minn. - Hosting its second weekend tournament in a row to begin the 2026 season, the University of Northwestern Volleyball team faced its toughest test yet on Friday night in the Ericksen Center. The University of Dubuque Spartans were the opponent, having recently dropped out of the AVCA Top 25 by only one spot after a 3-2 start to the season. Dubuque won its first game in St. Paul on Friday, a five-set thriller over Cal Lutheran, and was able to overcome potential fatigue to sweep Northwestern in the nightcap in a match closer than the word "sweep" would indicate, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22.
UNW rode a rowdy student section to a 5-2 lead early in set one, punctuated by an
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) ace. The Eagles were able to keep UD at an arm's length throughout the first half of the frame and held a 12-9 lead, but the Spartans rattled off four in a row and six of seven to take a 15-13 advantage. The lead continued to grow as Dubuque would go on to score 2-3 points for every Northwestern point that was scored, ultimately ending the set on an 8-2 run to take it, 25-18.
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian), who both won UMAC Athlete of the Week honors this week, each logged two kills early in the second set, and an
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) ace knotted things up at seven. A 5-1 UNW run featuring two more Wyatt kills and another Costello ace gave the Eagles a one-point edge, but UD fired back with five straight to move ahead, 16-12. Northwestern countered with a 4-0 spurt to even the score at 16 and bring the energy back into the building, but the Spartans' next two points wound up being the difference. After Dubuque took an 18-16 lead, the two squads traded points for the remainder of the set, resulting in a 25-23 win for UD despite five late Egge kills.
The Spartans capitalized on the momentum of a 2-0 lead and stormed out to a 17-8 lead in set three, and all appeared lost for UNW. But back-to-back kills from
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and Egge lit a fire under the Eagles, who went on a 7-1 tear to pull within three at 18-15. Two more Egge kills and another from Wyatt made it a one-point game, but a 3-0 run for Dubuque set up match point at 24-20. Northwestern scored a pair to keep the match alive a few moments longer, but a Caitlin Jensen kill slammed the door shut on any hope of a miraculous comeback.
Egge was sensational once again, tallying 16 kills on .367 hitting. Wyatt contributed eight kills on .429 hitting, and three blocks, while
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) also logged three blocks and added five kills. Costello had a match-high 10 digs and two aces, and
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian) also produced a pair of aces, in addition to 10 assists. Jenniges led the team in assists with 20.
The Eagles will finish up play at the KTIS Classic with a pair of matches against Cal Lutheran (11:00 AM) and Concordia-Moorhead (3:00 PM) on Saturday.
