ST. PAUL, Minn.-- The opening round of the 2026 UMAC Volleyball Tournament took place on Wednesday night as four teams competed in a pair of semifinal contests. The No. 1 seed Northwestern and No. 3 UW-Superior won its games to advance to the championship.

SEMIFINAL: No. 1 Northwestern def. No. 4 Crown 3-0
| Box Score | 
Northwestern (23-5 overall) hosted Crown (10-13) for its semifinal match. The Eagles swept the Polars 3-0 (25-16, 25-26, 25-21).

UNW took the 15-12 lead in the first, which wasn’t relinquished. A similar story played out in the second frame as the Eagles jumped to a 7-1 lead and never trailed.

In the third set, Crown took the 10-7 lead. The score would be tied six more times, which included for the last time at 18 all. UNW used five kills and two attack errors to seal the comeback victory and win the match.

Ana Egge led the Eagles with 17 kills. Anna Olsen and Miranda Wyatt finished just shy of double digits with nine kills each.

Libby Weckman and Addeson Jenniges record 19 and 16 set assists, respectively, as they co-ran the offense. Wyatt and Norah Jaeb had seven and six block assists, respectively.

Alana Costello finished with 18 digs.

Crown’s Lauren Burnett had nine kills and four service aces to lead the Polars.

SEMIFINAL: No. 3 UW-Superior def. No. 2 Minnesota Morris 3-0
| Box Score | 
Minnesota Morris (14-11 overall) hosted UW-Superior (19-9) for its semifinal match. The Yellowjackets swept the Cougars 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22).

In the first set, UW-Superior jumped to an 8-5 lead until Minnesota Morris rallied back to claim the 13-10 lead. The Yellowjackets compiled a 7-3 run to pull ahead at 17-15. The Cougars then used a 9-7 run to knot it at 24 all. A kill from Makenna Hohbein and a Cougar hitting error gave UWS the set one win.

The second frame was close as well, and was tied at 20-20. The ‘Jackets used a 5-1 run to claim the set as they capitalized on four hitting errors.

The third set was tied for the final time at seven all. UWS later built a lead to 18-12 and never relinquished the lead.

Makenna Hohbein had a team-best 17 kills to lead the Yellowjackets and had a double double with 26 digs. Savanna Hering joined her with 26 digs and Alaina Wilberg finished with 10.

UP NEXT
Northwestern and UW-Superior will battle for the UMAC Championship title and the automatic bid to the NCAA DIII national tournament on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Roseville, Minn. at 6 p.m.
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
• Semifinals: Wednesday, November 11
    - 6 P.M. | #1 Northwestern def #4 Crown 3-0
        Box Score
    - 6 P.M. | #3 UW-Superior def #2 Minnesota Morris 3-0
        Box Score

• Championship: Saturday, November 14
    - 6 PM | #3 UW-Superior at #1 Northwestern
        Live video | Live stats        

TICKETS
• $15 | Adults
• $10 | Seniors
• $10 | College Students
• $10 | Youth (Ages 6-18)
• Free | Ages 5 and Under
• Free | Any UMAC students, faculty, and staff with a valid and current institutional ID.
• No other passes will be accepted.