MORRIS, Minn. – The Minnesota Morris Cougars (13-8, 3-0 UMAC) picked up their fourth straight win on Tuesday with wins over Crown (6-12, 1-3 UMAC) and Presentation (10-12). Marissa Ekness led the team with 35 kills on the night. Brooke Decker had 88 assists, an average of 12.5 per set on the night.
 
Minnesota Morris jumped all over the Storm in the first set, taking a 9-3 lead after the opening whistle. Morris kept rolling along, scoring 13 of the next 15 points, increasing their lead to 17. They finished the set hitting .370 and winning 25-6.
 
Errors were costly for the Cougars in the second set; they had seven attack errors, three setting errors and a service error in the set alone. Crown led for a majority of the set, holding a 16-12 lead before UMM made a comeback. The Cougars went on a 9-0 run to take 21-16 lead before holding on for a 25-23 win.
 
The Cougars went up 10-3 in the third set and never looked back. They would go up by as much as 13 before winning 25-12.
 
Morris hit .300 in the match, Cori Becker and Ekness had 12 kills each to lead the offense. Abby Tietz added ten. Becker hit .625 in the match, just below her highest in her career. Brooke Decker had 34 assists, an average of 11.33 per set.
 
Three Cougars finished in double figures in digs. The defense held the Storm to -.032 hitting in the match, the lowest by any team against the Cougars this year.
 
The second match of the night featured the teams who won their first match in the triangular. The Saints used the momentum from their sweep over Crown to go up early but Morris quickly tied it. UMM had some breathing room after a Saints attack error which made the score 9-6. The Saints called a time out after falling behind 13-9. The Cougars continued to roll, increasing their lead to seven at 17-10. Morris would go on to win 25-12.
 
Presentation held a small lead for the early portion of set two, leading by as much as six at 15-9. The Cougars were forced to take a timeout after falling behind 17-9. Morris pulled back within four at 22-18, forcing a Saints timeout. Unfortunately, the Saints were able to hold off the Cougars, winning by a score of 25-21. Tietz had 11 kills through two sets.
 
Morris forced an early timeout in the third set after jumping out 11-7. The Cougars increased their lead to 11 at 19-8 and won the third set by a score of 25-13. Ekness had eight kills in the third set alone for Morris.
 
The momentum for the Cougars carried over in to the fourth set as they sprinted to a 5-0 lead. Presentation came back pulling within one at 12-11. The Saints would eventually tie the set at 16 and then took a one point lead moments later. It was a back and forth battle from there on out as both teams traded points.
 
Ekness finished the match 23 kills on 47 swings, an attack percentage of .340. The defense did their job slowing the Saints offense, holding them to just .092 hitting on the night. With the set tied at 25 a kill from Tietz and an ace from Bekah Morris allowed the Cougars to emerge with the 27-25 win.
 
Morris will be on the road Saturday, looking to stay perfect in the UMAC when they play Bethany Lutheran at 3 p.m.