ST. PAUL, Minn. - In its first of two matches against top-10 teams this weekend, the University of Northwestern Volleyball team made an emphatic statement and proved it once again belongs in the national conversation. The Eagles, playing in their second St. Kate's Quad match, overcame a four-point deficit late in the first set and never looked back, ultimately sweeping seventh-ranked Juniata College, 26-24, 25-23, 25-16.
Juniata took an early 3-1 lead in the opening frame, but UNW scored three-straight to take the lead after an
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) ace. JC settled in and began scoring two points for every Northwestern point, resulting in a 15-10 lead for the visitors from Pennsylvania, who in the only other meeting between the schools defeated the Eagles in the 2022 NCAA Division III Final Four.
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) began to do
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) things, logging three kills in short succession to trim the deficit to one. Juniata was able to put UNW on the ropes at 20-16, but Northwestern found some momentum, using aces from
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) and
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) to race ahead, 22-21. Egge hammered home two more kills before
Anja Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) finished off the 26-24 set win with one of her own.
Beth Wilmeth's squad's momentum did not wane in the three minutes in between sets, as
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) and
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) took their turns having success at the net, giving the Eagles a 10-3 lead. The lead grew to eight at 16-8 with Wyatt adding two more kills, but JC dug deep and caught fire, pulling within a point at 24-23 after fighting off three set points. But Jaeb saved the day with a block at the net to take the set, 25-23.
The third set was tight in the early goings, until a 5-1 Juniata run gave it an 11-7 advantage. Northwestern wasn't phased, going on a 13-4 run, including 7-0 with a pair of Egge aces, to surge ahead, 20-15. After one last point for JC, UNW rattled off five-straight, including a block and a kille each from Wyatt and Jarchow, to stun No. 7 Juniata with a 3-0 sweep after a 25-16 win.
Egge put up her second-consecutive double-double with 14 kills, 11 digs and a pair of aces, while Wyatt contributed nine kills on .350 hitting and two blocks. Jaeb led the team with three blocks, and Costello logged 11 digs and two aces. Jenniges dished out 15 assists with an ace, while Weckman dished out 13. Paplow tallied 10 digs and an ace herself.
UNW will have another tough test Saturday morning when they square off with No. 1 UW-Oshkosh at 11:00 AM on the St. Catherine campus. The Eagles defeated the Titans last year in Oshkosh when UWO was No. 1 at the time as well.
