MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team overcame some adversity on Saturday, rallying from a set down to defeat North Central University, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-14). The Cougars improve to 9-12 (6-4 UMAC) with the victory.

The first set broke North Central's way late to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Minnesota Morris led by as many as six, 16-10, and maintained a two-point lead, 23-21, after a kill from Maggie Jones and an attack error from Hailey Lerfald of the Rams. North Central closed by scoring the final four points, however, taking a surprising edge early on.

Minnesota Morris evened the match at 1-1 in a second set that featured a number of runs from both teams. A 6-1 lead for the Cougars out of the gates devolved into a 7-7 tie. That was followed by six straight from UMN Morris, only for North Central to come back and knot the score once again at 15-15. With the score 16-16, the Cougars scored seven out of the next eight points with Lydia Nash contributing three kills to take a 23-17 lead. Following four straight points from NCU, Minnesota Morris finally closed it out with kills from Jones and Laura Wellbrock.

Things got a little easier after that for the Cougars. North Central still showed some fight in the third set, but this time Minnesota Morris fought them off with less drama. Down the stretch, Macey Bosard had a kill to make it 21-13. The Rams then notched five in a row to cut it to 21-18 before Bosard had all four kills as the Cougars scored four of the final five points to finish off the set for a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth set, North Central tied the score at 5-5 before Minnesota Morris reeled off eight in a row to take the lead for good. The Rams would get no closer than five after that and the Cougars finished off the match with kills from Brooke Christensen and Wellbrock, and an ace from McKenzie Newton to cap it.

Wellbrock led the Cougars with 12 kills and Jones added 10. Bosard had seven kills on just 10 attack attempts for a .700 hitting percentage. Newton ended the day with a double-double of 37 assists and 13 digs, tying Alyssa Ukestad for the team lead in digs as the senior also had 13 digs from the back row. Nash finished the match with five aces, while Jones chipped in with four.

Minnesota Morris stays on the road next weekend for two more matches. On Oct. 21, the Cougars will head to New Ulm to face Martin Luther College at 7 p.m.