ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team began its 2022 season with a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-20, 25-16) over Hamline University on the first night of the Macalester College Tournament. The Cougars put together a team hitting percentage of .216, while holding the Pipers to a .027 hitting percentage on the night.

Early on in the first set, Lydia Nash had a pair of aces in a five-point run for Minnesota Morris to go on top, 10-7. Hamline would never pull even with the Cougars the rest of the set and another six-point run ripped off by Minnesota Morris made it 22-12 and essentially put the set away. Maggie Jones was involved in back-to-back blocks during that stretch as UMN Morris took the early lead in the match.

Hamline led early on in the second set, but Minnesota Morris eventually wrested the lead back from the Pipers and began to pull away. A brief rally from Hamline made it 21-19 and forced a timeout from the Cougars, but Laura Wellbrock came out of that break in the action with a kill, Alyssa Ukestad submitted an ace, and McKenzie Newton added another kill to make it 24-19. Wellbrock finished it off two points later as Minnesota Morris went up two sets.

Consecutive attack errors from Hamline opened the third set and Minnesota Morris would never trail as the Cougars closed it out. The lead for UMN Morris quickly approached double-digits and grew to as many as 12 points late in the set. The Pipers finished with 12 attack errors in the third set, hitting -.154 as a team.

Wellbrock led all players in the match with 11 kills, hitting at a .308 clip. Jones had six kills to go with two solo blocks and two block assists. Nash and Kennedy Geller each added five kills and freshman Anna Molstad had four in her first collegiate match. Ukestad led the Cougars with 15 digs, while Sydney Eckhoff added 12. Newton handed out 31 assists and tacked on nine digs.

Minnesota Morris plays twice on Saturday, facing Macalester at 10 a.m. and then coming back in the afternoon to square off with Luther College at 2 p.m.