Northwestern cruises to 10th-straight UMAC regular season volleyball title
MORRIS, Minn.---The University of Northwestern volleyball team continued its dominance in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Thursday when it defeated the University of Minnesota Morris 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) to capture its 10th-straight regular season volleyball championship.
The Eagles finish the unique 2020-21 spring volleyball season with a perfect 8-0 conference record and improved to 23-5 overall after also competing this fall. The No. 16 nationally-ranked squad has now won at least a share of 13 of the last 14 UMAC regular season titles.
Northwestern completed its solid spring season with a strong finish against a Cougar squad that has proven to be its top conference competition in recent years. After a closely contested first set, the Eagles rolled in the second and third sets led by a strong outing from Kendra Hardy who collected 12 kills and hit .478.
Despite unique circumstances of competing in conference games during the spring, the Eagles haven't seemed to miss a beat from the previous 2019 season when they shared the title before going on to win the UMAC tournament and an opening-round NCAA tournament match. This season, in UMAC play, the Eagles dropped just one set all season and led the UMAC in hitting percentage (.290), assists per set (13.28), kills per set (14.16) and blocks per set (2.08).
Kalley Schwitters has led the team offensively ranking third in the UMAC for both kills per set (3.44) and attack percentage (.343). She also ranks in the UMAC top 10 for digs per set (3.56). Sydney Schwitters runs the efficient offense with a UMAC-best 12.00 assists per set, while Marylyn Schroyer anchors the defense with the second-most digs per set (5.56) in the UMAC.
With the win over the Cougars, the Eagles secured the No. 1 seed in the UMAC postseason tournament which will feature all nine teams when it begins next Monday, April 5. The Eagles will host a semifinal match against an opponent yet to be determined on Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota. All information about the tournament can be found on the
UMAC Volleyball Postseason site.
UMAC champions and tournament seeding are determined based on pre-established protocols developed by the UMAC Council of Athletics Directors and approved by the UMAC Council of Presidents. Prior to the season, the conference recognized that not all UMAC teams may complete all scheduled conference games or compete against all conference teams due to COVID-19 protocols. Postponed contests could be rescheduled if mutually agreed on by both competing institutions. In order to be eligible for a regular season championship, a team must have completed at least 50 percent of scheduled conference games.