SUPERIOR, Wis. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team had its 2022 season come to an end on Wednesday night in a 3-2 loss (25-19, 15-25, 22-25, 25-23, 14-16) to the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The Yellowjackets advance to the UMAC Championship match with the victory and will face the University of Northwestern on Saturday.

The match started well for Minnesota Morris. The Cougars took a quick 11-5 lead on UW-Superior in the first set and maintained a lead that hovered around that six-point mark for much of the set. A brief push from the Yellowjackets to get within three, 17-14, was answered by a kill from Maggie Jones, a kill from Brooke Christensen, and a Jones ace to get back to 20-14. Lydia Nash had a kill to earn a set point and a UW-Superior attack error gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead on the night.

Things got rocky from there. UW-Superior had runs of three, four, five, and six points in the second set to take a 23-10 lead. Minnesota Morris scored four in a row with kills from Anna Molstad, Laura Wellbrock, Nash, and Jones, but that was just delaying the eventual Yellowjacket set victory to even the match at 1-1.

The Cougars bounced back early in the third set with an 8-4 lead before UW-Superior scored 10 of the next 11 points to take a 14-9 edge. Minnesota Morris responded with five points in a row to level the score at 14-14 and the set would be tied at each point along the way up to 20-20. From there, the Yellowjackets scored five straight to earn a set point at 24-20 and won it three points later.

UW-Superior looked to have things wrapped up in the fourth set, breaking open an 8-8 tie and taking a 19-11 lead on Minnesota Morris late in the set. The Cougars were able to flip the switch, however, shocking the Yellowjackets with a comeback to force a fifth set. McKenzie Newton started things off with a pair of kills as the Cougars closed to within 20-17. In the late stages of the set, UW-Superior began to feel the pressure and had three straight attack errors to give the lead back to Minnesota Morris at 23-22. Kills from Molstad and Mary Cate Ziembiec closed it out to knot the score at 2-2.

The Yellowjackets somehow recovered from that turn of events to take a 7-0 lead to start the fifth set. Ziembiec finally got Minnesota Morris on the board and more UW-Superior errors allowed the Cougars to pull within 7-4. The Yellowjackets still had a 12-7 lead when things changed one final time. Wellbrock had a pair of kills in a three-point swing to make it 12-10. A trade of points left things at 14-12 and gave a match point to UW-Superior before a serve went long and Molstad had a kill to level the score at 14-14. Just when it looked like the momentum had fully swung to Minnesota Morris, an attack error and a kill from Cassy Teff gave UW-Superior the victory at 16-14.

Molstad finished the night with a team-high 16 kills. Wellbrock added 14 kills and 18 digs. Ziembiec had eight kills and 22 digs. Newton also had a double-double with 40 assists and 14 digs. Alyssa Ukestad ended her record-setting Cougar career with a match-high 27 digs and Sydney Eckhoff also hit double-figures in digs with 11 on the night. 

Minnesota Morris finishes the season with an overall record of 13-13, including a 10-4 mark in the UMAC.