MORRIS, Minn. – For the second straight year Minnesota Morris (5-3) has beat a ranked opponent, this time by sweeping #20 St. Thomas (2-4) in their second match of the day. They fell in five sets to a tough Wisconsin-Eau Claire (5-3) earlier in the day.
The Cougars fell behind early to Wisconsin-Eau Claire, losing the first two sets. In set one the Bluegolds took a 9-5 lead forcing a UMM timeout. The Cougars closed to within three at 12-9 but could not get any closer. The lead grew to six before Morris pulled within three once again at 20-17. However, it was not enough and Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the set 25-21.
The second set saw Eau Claire go up 15-9 before a service error brought UMM to within five. The Cougars closed the gap to two at 17-15 but once again could not get over the hump as hitting errors crept up on UMM. Wisconsin-Eau Claire would win the set 25-18.
Things seemed to change quickly in the third set. Morris used a 9-2 run early to take a 13-6 lead, surprisingly Eau Claire did not take a timeout and still managed a slight comeback. The lead shrunk to four at 17-13 forcing the Cougars to call a timeout. The Bluegolds got as close as three but Morris stood firm and won the set 25-17 pulling away late.
Set four was a back and forth battle but Eau Claire gained some separation midway through and took a 16-10 lead. The Cougars dug in and rallied back going on an 8-0 run to take a two point lead. The lead grew to four at 23-19 before they closed out the set with a 25-23 win.
The Bluegolds took an 8-3 lead in the decisive fifth set. Morris attempted a comeback and got as close as three at 9-6 but it was not enough and Eau Claire won the match with a 15-9 victory in set five.
Marissa Ekness led UMM with 24 kills, setting a new career high.
Abby Tietz collected 16 kills and hit .317 in the match.
Brooke Decker set a new career high with 43 assists in the match. Four Cougars finished with at least ten digs, led by
Katie Reitsma who had 27, tying a career high from earlier this season. Decker added 16 and
Bekah Morris had 15. Blocking was also a big part of the match for Morris.
Cori Becker,
Alyssa Houselog and Tietz each had six block assists resulting in career highs for each.
It was the Tietz and Ekness show again in the second match of the day as the two combined for 31 of the Cougars 48 kills. Tietz hit .424 in the match while Ekness hit .316. The Cougars hit .301 as a team with just 11 errors in 123 swings. Morris also held an advantage in the serving game with ten serving aces.
Minnesota Morris and St. Thomas battled back and forth in the first set as neither team ever lead by more than four. It was even closer the later on in the set they got. With the match tied 10-10, neither team had a lead larger than two the rest of the way. Morris trailed 20-19 late in the set but took the lead back thanks to a kill from Ekness to go up 22-21. The Tommies tied the set on three different occasions but never took the lead and a service ace from Kassidy Pryzmus gave UMM the 26-24 win.
St. Thomas took a 5-0 lead out of the gate in set two and held an advantage until midway through the set. After back-to-back receiving errors gave UST a 15-11 lead,
Tricia Melfy called a timeout to make some adjustments and calm the nerves. Morris responded and quickly tied the set at 17 before taking a five point lead moments later. St. Thomas settled back in and tied the set at 23 but a kill by Ekness and an ace by Becker gave the Cougars a 25-23 win.
The Cougars jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the third set but the Tommies did not fold up shop. UST would rally back in the set and tied it at 13. St. Thomas held a small lead at 19-17 but could not pull away. Morris scored four of the next five points in the set to go back up by one. A service error gave the Cougars another one point lead, this time at 21-20 and the Cougars never looked back winning the set 25-23 when Ekness delivered the final nail in the coffin.
Morris is back in action tomorrow with a pair of matches. At 11 a.m. the Cougars will face host #25 Augsburg before finishing up with a match against Wisconsin La-Crosse at 1 p.m.
