MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Morris Cougars took down the North Central Rams in a four set match that closed out the regular season. The Cougars ended UMAC play 11-3, advancing to the Conference Tournament. 

The Rams took an early lead in the first set, but the Cougars were quick to respond and find a 10-8 lead thanks to kills from Sydney Petersen, Laura Wellbrock, and Tori Scheler. North Central answered back with their second lead of the set, getting up 17-13. Wellbrock kicked off a scoring run to tie the game with a kill, which Lacie O'Leary and Scheler followed up with a block at the net. Minnesota Morris jumped ahead to a 21-19 lead, finding the win on the set with three kills from Anna Molstad and an error from the Rams for a 25-20 final score. 

O'Leary got things rolling for the Cougars early in the second set, throwing down three kills as part of Minnesota Morris' 6-0 lead. The Rams were unable to respond to the dominant offense from the Cougars as the scoring gap lengthened even further thanks to kills from Mary Cate Ziembiec and errors from the Rams. Up 17-8, Minnesota Morris kept their foot on the gas. The Cougars closed out the set with four kills in quick succession from O'Leary, Clara Holden, Molstad, and Wellbrock for a 25-11 score. 

Madeline Monaco and Ziembiec kicked off the scoring for Minnesota Morris with a block, which the Rams responded to with a block of their own. Scoring continued to bounce back and forth between the two teams, with the Rams finding a 9-5 lead from a five point run. A second scoring run put together by North Central flung them into a 16-6 lead over the Cougars. Molstad, Ziembiec, Petersen, Wellbrock, and Holden each scored points for Minnesota Morris, but the Cougars were unable to respond and the Rams closed the set out with a 25-15 lead. 

Jumping out to an early 7-3 lead in the fourth set, the Cougars continued to demonstrate their athleticism on the court. Molstad, Ziembiec, and Wellbrock led Minnesota Morris to a 14-8 lead with attacks that the North Central could not return. Molstad earned the 21st point of the set for the Cougars, which Melanie Monaco followed up with two service aces to find a 23-13 lead. The Rams took two points off Minnesota Morris, but the Cougars shut down the home team with a kill from Ziembiec and a block from Madeline Monaco and O'Leary to close out the set with a 25-15 lead to finalize the match at 3-1. 

Wellbrock and Ziembiec led the Cougar offense on the day with ten kills each. Holden earned eighteen set assists and tacked on four aces for Minnesota Morris. O'Leary went in on four blocks while Melanie Monaco earned eleven digs for the Cougar defense. 

The Cougars will play in the first round of the UMAC tournament against the University of Wisconsin - Superior. The match is scheduled for a 7 pm start on Nov. 13 in Superior, Wis.