MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team came back late in the fourth set to knot the match at 2-2 and force a deciding fifth set, but the University of Wisconsin-Superior was able to do just enough in the closing stages to hold off the Cougars, 3-2. The 25-16, 15-25, 22-25, 27-25, 12-15 loss drops the Cougars to 0-1 (0-1 UMAC), while the Yellow Jackets up their record to 3-0 (1-0 UMAC).

UW-Superior started off well in the first set, opening up a 4-1 lead and continuing to hold a three-point lead at 10-7 after a series of ball-handling errors. After Minnesota Morris earned the sideout, they roared back on the serve of Hailey Remme, reeling off seven straight points to go on top, 14-10. Another seven-point outburst later in the set pushed the lead to 23-12 and the Cougars were able to easily hold on from there, going up 1-0.

The Yellow Jackets answered back in the second set, scoring the first six points and nine of the first 10 to open up a comfortable margin. Minnesota Morris tried to recover, getting within five at 16-11 after a Remme ace, but UW-Superior responded with five straight points and went on to knot the match at 1-1.

In the third set, back-to-back kills from Maggie Jones and a bad set from UW-Superior's Megan Holz built the UMN Morris lead to 20-16 and forced a timeout from the Yellow Jackets. UW-Superior scored three straight after the break in action, but Jones smashed down another kill to make it 21-19. From there, the visitors scored six of the final seven points in the set to surprise the Cougars, 25-22, and take a 2-1 lead.

The momentum of that late surge in the third set carried over for much of the fourth set as UW-Superior took a 19-12 lead. After a Minnesota Morris timeout, the Cougars stormed back to knot the score at 19-19, and then took the lead at 23-21 after scoring four points in a row. Trailing 24-23, UMN Morris stayed alive with kills from Tori Everson and Paige Hinze. With the score 25-25, Hinze found a hole in the Yellow Jacket defense to make it 26-25 and Everson and Jones then blocked Kailyn Plautz for the set-winning point.

A slow start from Minnesota Morris in the fifth set made things difficult from the very beginning. UW-Superior went ahead, 3-0, and grew the lead to 8-4 before the Cougars came back to tie the score at 8-8 and again at 9-9. The Yellow Jackets went back on top with four straight points and had their first match point at 14-10. Though the Cougars held off two of them, the Yellow Jackets were successful on their third attempt to win, 15-12.

Everson and McKenzie Newton had double-doubles in the match for Minnesota Morris. Everson totaled team highs with 17 kills and 24 digs, while Newton had 54 assists and 11 digs. Jones added 12 kills and Mia Frick also reached double-figures in the category with 11 kills. Alyssa Ukestad added 18 digs on the afternoon.

The Cougars are back home on March 13, hosting Bethany Lutheran College at 1 p.m.