NEW ULM, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team got up early and swept Martin Luther College on Saturday, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16), to improve to 12-4 (5-0 UMAC) on the season.

The Knights led for much of the first set and took a 16-13 lead following a service error from Minnesota Morris. However, the Cougars quickly scored six in a row and 11 of the next 12 to take a 24-17 advantage and close it out for the 1-0 lead.

That dominant finish to the first set carried over into the second set as Minnesota Morris roared out to an 8-1 advantage. The Cougars maintained a comfortable lead most of the way, but Martin Luther refused to quit and were able to get within two points at 24-22 before a Maggie Jones kill put it away.

The final set turned into the easiest one for Minnesota Morris as the team committed only a single attack error while Martin Luther was charged with 10. The Cougars went ahead and led wire-to-wire, seeing the lead balloon to 23-11 before the Knights scored a few points late. Consecutive attack errors from Martin Luther including a block from Lacie O'Leary finished it off for Minnesota Morris.

Laura Wellbrock led all players in the match with nine kills. McKenzie Newton finished with six kills to go along with 16 assists and six digs. Lydia Nash added five kills, while O'Leary had four and Jones and Tori Scheler tacked on three apiece. The Cougars were credited with seven solo blocks, including three from Jones. Ava Brunn had 10 digs from the back row.

Minnesota Morris heads to the Twin Cities next weekend and faces North Central University on Friday night starting at 7 p.m.