ST. PAUL, Minn. - A busy opening weekend continued Saturday for the University of Northwestern Volleyball team as it double-dipped on the final day of its annual Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational. The Eagles, who swept Bethel on Friday night, began the day against Lawrence University, who went 1-1 on Friday. UNW stole a thrilling first set but wound up losing the next three to fall 3-1. In the final match of the event, Northwestern bounced back and swept the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, who finished the weekend 1-2. At the conclusion of the tournament, UNW's
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) and
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Match One: Lawrence University Vikings
The Eagles looked to be in business early, opening up an 11-5 lead after a good start on both sides of the net by freshman
Emma Sip (Rogers, Minn./Rogers). Lawrence was able to pull within three shortly thereafter, and soon found itself in front, 16-15. The two teams went back-and-forth with UNW feeding its front line of
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian),
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) and
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph), until the hosts scored back-to-back points to go ahead 22-21. The Vikings countered with two-straight of their own, but Northwestern scored four of the final six points to escape with a 27-25 win in the opener, finished off by a Wyatt block.
Lawrence came out hot in set two with the first three points, but UNW answered back with four-in-a-row to move ahead, 4-3. The margin stayed within a point on either side as Olsen continued to excel offensively, until the Vikings scored four-consecutive points to take a two-point advantage. The score once again tightened as the set progressed, as Lawrence's 22-20 lead was erased by a
Norah Jaeb (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) kill and a Wyatt block. But the Vikings were able to overcome, scoring three-straight to steal the set, 25-20.
Lawrence's momentum continued into set three as the visitors raced out to a 19-8 lead. Northwestern reached double digits with an Egge kill, but it was all Vikings as they finished the set on a 17-5 run to win, 25-10.
The beginning of the fourth set appeared to feature more of what was seen in the third, as LU opened up an early, 5-1 lead. But the Eagles weren't going down without a fight and would go on to rattle off six-consecutive points to take a 7-5 lead.
Alana Costello (Mead, Colo./Mead) picked up two aces in the sequence, and Jaeb added three kills. Lawrence was able to steady the ship and take a two-point advantage, but Wyatt tied it back up with a pair of kills. Unfortunately for UNW, the Vikings had one more run left in them, putting up six-straight to open up an 18-12 lead. Northwestern was able to trim the margin to three, but Lawrence pulled away for a 25-18 victory to take the match in four sets and hand the Eagles their first loss of 2026.
Egge once again led Northwestern with 12 kills and added six digs. Olsen and Wyatt each chipped in nine kills, with the latter adding four blocks. Costello had a nice game at libero, finishing with 20 digs and three aces, while
Elese Paplow (Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central) logged 11 digs and an ace.
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) dished out a team-high 18 assists and
Libby Weckman (Shakopee, Minn./Southwest Christian) 15.
Match Two: University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers
After a frustrating morning match, UNW was able to rest and scout its next opponent, UW-Platteville, as the Pioneers battled and defeated Bethel in the 1:00 match. UWP didn't appear to be fatigued early, opening up a 4-0 lead before the Eagles were able to settle down and tie the score at seven, thanks to contributions from just about every front line player. With the score knotted at 11, Northwestern took over. Three Egge kills and a Costello ace highlighted a 7-0 run that put the hosts in the driver's seat. UW-Platteville was able to trim the deficit to three at 21-18, but Jaeb imposed her will at the net to clinch a 25-22 win to get things started.
The Pioneers again started strong in the second set, taking an early 5-2 lead, but just like set one, the Eagles came roaring back with another 7-0 run to seize control. Egge had three kills in the sequence, and Olsen and Weckman each one. UNW kept Platteville at an arm's length for much of the set before running away with it, 25-13, after an explosive, 12-4 run.
The good times continued for
Beth Wilmeth's squad into set three as Northwestern opened up an 8-3 lead after a Weckman ace. UWP was able to roar back to tie it at nine, but an 8-1 run moments later, sparked by two kills and a block from Wyatt, put Northwestern back in control at 18-11. The Pioneers were able to claw their way back to a three-point deficit, but four errors by the visitors to finish the match gave the Eagles all the points they needed to close out the sweep with a 25-20 win.
Egge returned to her efficient ways with a 13-point, 12-dig double-double that included two blocks and an ace. Jaeb was terrific as well, hitting .438 on her way to nine kills and four blocks, while Sip logged four blocks herself. Wyatt finished with three blocks, and Costello tallied 15 digs and an ace, with Paplow adding 10 and one, respectively. Jenniges dished out 18 assists and aced the Pioneers once, and Weckman followed suit with 12 and two, respectively.
Up Next
Northwestern will be off until its second and final home tournament of the season, the KTIS Classic, begins Friday, September 11th. The Eagles' first match of the event will take place at 6:00 PM on Friday against No. 24 Dubuque, and they will square off with Cal Lutheran and Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday.
