MORRIS, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Morris Volleyball team competed for the first time this season on James Gremmels court. Minnesota Morris hosted Buena Vista University and Bethel University on this exciting day of volleyball.

The Cougars will open UMAC play on the road at Crown College on Sept. 24. The match is scheduled for a 7 pm start.

Minnesota Morris 3, Buena Vista 0
(25-11, 25-12, 25-23)

The Cougars dominated the first set against the Beavers, jumping out to an early 9-2 lead which was led off by a block from Laura Wellbrock and Tori Scheler. Mary Cate Ziembiec, Lacie O'Leary and Wellbrock all threw down kills in the scoring run with assists from Sydney Petersen. Minnesota Morris continued to gain momentum, scoring three or four points at a time while shutting down the Buena Vista offense. The set retired with the Cougars holding a commanding 25-11 lead.

The second set was back and forth in the beginning, with Minnesota Morris holding a lead but Buena Vista keeping the score close. A seven point run at 16-11 put the match away for the Cougars. Wellbrock led off with two kills while Clara Holden aided with two service aces. The Beavers made two attack errors and Madeline Monaco finished the run with a kill. The Cougars held a 25-12 lead at the end of the set.

The Beavers started the third set on a scoring run, managing to put six points on the board before the Cougars scored their first. Minnesota Morris battled their way back and tied the set up at 21-21. Kills from Wellbrock and Macey Bosard gave the Cougars the lead. The deal was sealed with a kill from O'Leary, assisted by Allison Dornseif, that ended the set 25-23 to give Minnesota Morris the win. 

Wellbrock led the Cougars with eight kills and three serving aces. Scheler totaled up four blocks to assist in the Cougar win. Petersen set up 22 assists, and Ziembiec took on seven digs for Minnesota Morris

Bethel 3, Minnesota Morris 1
(22-25, 17-25, 25-22, 17-25)

The Royals opened the scoring in the first set, but the Cougars were quick to respond with kills by Scheler and Wellbrock. The scoring remained back and forth throughout the set with each team going on scoring runs. Minnesota Morris finally tied up the set with a kill from Ziembiec. A kill from Anna Molstad and a service error on Bethel kept the game close, but a three point run finalized the set 25-22 for the Royals. 

Set two once again started out with back and forth scoring until a run from Bethel put them again four points over the Cougars. Minnesota Morris responded with a run of their own with kills from Madeline Monaco and Ziembiec. The Royals went on a second scoring run that widened their lead to 14-9 and the Cougar offense was unable to gain the traction to respond. The set retired with Bethel in a substantial lead over Minnesota Morris at 25-17.

The third set showed the offense prowess of these two teams in a back and forth battle. The Cougars managed to gain the lead on a scoring run in which Molstad and Holden threw down kills for the home team. Despite the Royals attempts to regain the lead, the Cougars shut them down on both offense and defense. Ziembiec put a kill on Bethel's side of the net. O'Leary and Madeline Monaco executed a block that gave Minnesota Morris a three point lead at 23-20. Two kills from Madeline Monaco was what the Cougars needed the put the set away with a 25-22 lead.

The Bethel offense was a dominant force in the fourth set, creating their own scoring runs and shutting down the Cougar's offensive attempts to score. Wellbrock kicked off a scoring run that brought Minnesota Morris back within striking distance of the Royals at 11-14. Two scoring runs at the end of the set allowed Bethel a substantial lead and the match ended with a final set of 25-17.

Wellbrock threw down ten kills in the match. Madeline Monaco and Melanie Monaco each served up two aces and Madeline added four blocks to her stat line. Ziembiec came away leading in digs with twelve. Petersen assisted on sixteen kills for the Cougars.