ASHLAND, Wis. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team saw a 1-0 lead slip away in a 3-1 loss (25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 21-25) at Northland College on Saturday. The Cougars drop to 5-11 (2-3 UMAC), while the LumberJills up their record to 8-6 (3-2 UMAC).

With both teams struggling offensively, the outcome of the match hinged largely on errors. The Cougars committed 26 attacking errors and another 10 on service errors. Northland also served 13 aces and had just a single service error on the day.

Early on, Minnesota Morris took the first set even after falling behind by as many as seven points. Northland enjoyed a 16-9 lead and were still ahead late by a score of 23-20. Things took a huge turn in the closing stretch Laura Wellbrock and Kennedy Geller had kills to get within a point. Two attack errors from Larissa Fossum followed to make it 24-23 for the Cougars and a bad set by the LumberJills finished it off.

Despite that early surge of momentum, Minnesota Morris was unable to capitalize from there. Northland took a 7-1 edge early in the second set. Though the Cougars once again fought back and even led by the midway point of the set, Northland turned it on late and scored the final three points to even the match at 1-1.

The third set changed dramatically midway through. A series of Northland errors and an ace from Macey Bosard gave Minnesota Morris a 12-9 lead and forced the LumberJills into a timeout. Coming out of that break, Northland scored nine straight points to go up, 18-12. The Cougars then found an answer and scored six in a row to knot the score at 18-18 with Wellbrock providing three kills in that stretch. With Northland leading, 21-20, the LumberJills once again went on a run and scored the last four to take a 2-1 advantage.

Minnesota Morris took as much as a six-point lead, 14-8, in the fourth set, but Northland refused to go away. Six points in a row for the LumberJills turned an 18-14 deficit into a 20-18 lead. The Cougars were unable to pull even from there as Northland wrapped up the match in four.

Wellbrock finished with nine kills on the day, with Lydia Nash and Maggie Jones adding seven each. Geller finished with six kills and had a team-best .357 hitting percentage. Alyssa Ukestad finished the day with 35 digs, while Sydney Eckhoff added 18. McKenzie Newton ended the day with 30 assists and nine digs.

Minnesota Morris returns home for two matches next weekend, starting with Martin Luther College on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.