ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of Northwestern and St. Catherine University volleyball teams decided to get a head start on their St. Kate's Quad weekends, playing the event's opening match on Wednesday before welcoming in a pair of top-10 teams over the weekend. Playing in a true road match, UNW dropped set one before rebounding for a 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18) victory over St. Kate's, its first non-sweep win of 2026. The Eagles, who used a heavy dose of
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) on offense and a dominant defensive effort at the net, are now 6-2 on the season and 4-0 against MIAC opponents.
The Wildcats, who always play Northwestern tough, regardless of records or rankings, raced out to a 4-1 lead early in set one. UNW pulled within one after a block from freshmen
Emma Sip (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) and
Siri Bach (Watertown, S.D./Watertown), but SCU responded with a 6-0 spurt to open up a 13-6 advantage. The Eagles tried their best to battle back, but were never able to come closer than three points as St. Kate's took a 1-0 lead with a 25-18, first-set win.
In set two, it was Northwestern's turn to take a 4-1 lead. An
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) kill extended the margin to 9-3, but the Wildcats were able to trim their deficit to one at 16-15. Undaunted, UNW ripped off a 5-0 run, sparked by three-consecutive Egge kills and an ace from
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian). Two more Egge kills and a block apiece from Olsen and
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) evened the match with the Eagles earning a 25-19 win in the second frame.
Egge continued to get whatever she wanted at the net early in the third set, but neither team was able to lead by more than two points until a 4-0 spurt, featuring a pair of
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) blocks, put the visitors ahead, 13-9. St. Catherine was able to take eight of the next 10 points to storm ahead, 17-15, but Northwestern answered back with six of seven to make it 21-18 in its favor. The 'Cats got within one on multiple occasions, but Egge and Wyatt hammered kills home as part of a 3-0 run that closed out the set, 25-21.
SCU seemed determined to take the match the distance after taking a 6-2 lead to begin set four, but UNW again put together a big run (5-0 this time) to race in front. The margin stayed razor-thin until the Eagles surged ahead, 20-12, after scoring seven of eight points. Wyatt, Jaeb, Egge and Sip each logged at least one kill in the run that all but clinched the victory for Northwestern. One final kill from Wyatt finished off a 25-18 set win and clinched the 3-1 win for the visitors, their first win of the season that wasn't a sweep.
In a match where neither team hit the ball particularly well (.190 for UNW compared to .084 for SCU), Egge shone bright with a 21-kill (5.25 per set), 10-dig double-double. Where the Eagles made their mark was on the defensive side of the net, where the "Wall of St. Paul" out-blocked St. Kate's 16-5. Sip led the way with seven blocks (including three solo), while Wyatt tallied six and seven kills, Jarchow four, and Olsen and Jaeb each two. Weckman had 20 assists, eight digs and an ace, while
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) finished with 18 assists and nine digs.
Rylee Kennedy (Altura, Minn./Lewiston-Altura) and
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) also logged aces, with the latter adding 15 digs as well. Freshman libero,
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead), led the team with a career-high 23 digs.
UNW will return to St. Kate's this weekend for two more matches, both against AVCA top-10 opponents. The Eagles will face No. 7 Juniata at 4:00 PM on Friday, before finishing the tournament with No. 1 UW-Oshkosh at 11:00 AM on Saturday.
