Northwestern wins third consecutive UMAC volleyball championship
10/28/2009 11:06:03 PM
By Greg Johnson
ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College volleyball team won its third consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship on Wednesday afternoon with a 3-0 defeat of Crown College. The win was the Eagles’ 27th straight UMAC victory, dating back to October of 2007. Never before has Northwestern won three outright conference titles in a row.
NWC didn’t take long to win the first two sets in 25-5 and 28-7 scores. A 25-17 score rounded out the third set and the 3-0 match for the Eagles.
Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) had 12 kills in the match with a .391 attacking percentage. Chelsea Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) chipped in eight kills on 14 attempts as the two together had 20 of Northwestern’s 32 kills. Rachel Polzin (Mason City, Iowa/Mason City) had 15 assists for the Eagles while Kelsey Korporal led all players with 14 digs.
As a team, NWC posted a .273 hitting percentage while Crown struggled on offense as the Storm failed to break positive numbers.
The Eagles didn't fare as well in their match an hour and a half later, as Wisconsin-Eau Claire bested Northwestern 3-1. NWC had its second-worst hitting performance of the season en route to a 24-26, 25-20, 18-25, 14-25 loss. Despite owning a 10-9 advantage in blocks, the Eagles were only able to hit .070 in the match.
Greta King (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) and Koth both had double-digit kill performances while Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) led the team with 24 assists. Korporal once again paced the Eagles in the digs category with 22, while Sandstrom and Sarah Whitmore (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) each had four blocks.
Wrapping up the day's events, Northwestern moves to 18-10 overall (12-0 UMAC) and will take a short break before resuming the team's conference schedule on Friday. The Eagles will play Northland College in Ashland, Wis. on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing the College of St. Scholastica and UW-Stevens Point at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday in Duluth.