SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Morris Cougars hit the r0ad for their last weekend of UMAC play for the regular season. The Cougars battled against the University of Northwestern, falling in four sets in their first game of the weekend.

The first set started out competitive, as the Cougars jumped out to an early 7-3 lead on a scoring run kicked off by kills from Laura Wellbrock and Tori Scheler. Minnesota Morris quickly expanded their lead to 14-5 on a six point scoring run with kills from Anna Molstad and Madeline Monaco. Molstad, Mary Cate Ziembiec, Wellbrock, and Lacie O'Leary all threw down kills for the Cougar offense to maintain the lead over the next few points. The Eagles closed the gap with multiple scoring runs, bringing the set close at 23-18 before Sydney Petersen set Wellbrock for a kill that solidified Minnesota Morris' 25-18 victory in the first set of this matchup. 

Both teams fought for the lead early in the second set, with scoring going back and forth. The Cougars took their first lead of the set on a block from Madeline Monaco and Molstad to get up 9-7 on Northwestern. Madeline Monaco threw down a kill and went in on a block with O'Leary to maintain a 12-9 lead for Minnesota Morris. Points continued to go back and forth, with kills for the Cougars coming from Madeline Monaco, Scheler, Wellbrock, and Molstad to keep Minnesota Morris in the lead. Unfortunately, the Cougars were unable to hold their lead to finish the set. With Northwestern down 19-21, the Eagles launched a six point scoring campaign to take the set 25-21.

The Cougars jumped out to a short-lived 9-7 lead over the Eagles in the third set, dominating at the net on offense. Northwestern was quick to respond with a six point run to take the lead, followed by a five point run to get up 20-13 over Minnesota Morris. The Cougars continued to battle, launching a three point scoring run that featured a kill from Wellbrock, a block from Wellbrock and Scheler, and a second block from Macey Bosard and Scheler. Scheler, Molstad and Wellbrock each tacked on kills in an attempt to overtake the Eagles, but the set finished with Northwestern leading 25-20. 

The Eagles quickly dominated the fourth set of the matchup, maintaining their lead early. The Cougars were able to close the scoring gap to 8-10 thanks to errors from Northwestern and a kill from Wellbrock before the Eagles put together multiple scoring runs. Jumping to a 21-10 lead, Northwestern's momentum was interrupted by three kills from Bosard, assisted by Clara Holden, to give the Cougars thirteen points. The Eagles finalized the match with a three point scoring run to take a 25-13 lead. 

Wellbrock led both the Cougar offense and defense on the day, totaling up 17 kills and 18 digs against the Eagles. Scheler led Minnesota Morris at the net with 4 blocks, followed by Madeline Monaco with 3. Holden earned 19 set assists against Northwestern, with Petersen just behind totaling up 18. 

The Cougars will finish the regular season with a 1 pm matchup against North Central University on Nov. 9.