MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team fell in a five-set battle to the University of Wisconsin-Superior, 3-2 (25-20, 25-13, 18-25, 14-25, 10-15), in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action Saturday afternoon in Morris, Minn.
 
The Yellowjackets improve to 16-7 overall and 5-1 in the UMAC, while the Cougars drop to 9-9 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
 
After dropping the first two points of the opening set, the Cougars responded with kills from Ella Johnson, Clara Holden, and Bella Nelson to take an early lead. A kill from Tori Scheler and an ace from Lexi Coon extended the lead to three. UWS narrowed the gap to 10-9, but a Johnson kill sparked a four-point rally, capped by a Holden ace, to give UMM its largest lead of the set at five. The teams traded points over the next several rallies, but a kill from Mary Cate Ziembiec sealed the 25-20 win for the Cougars.
 
Minnesota Morris started hot in the second set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead behind kills from Nelson, Johnson, Ziembiec, and an ace from Holden. Midway through the set, Johnson sparked a three-point run with back-to-back kills. An ace from Johnson and a Ziembiec kill pushed the lead to nine. Allison Dornseif delivered a service point to make it a 10-point advantage, and Anna Molstad finished off the set with a kill, giving the Cougars a dominant 25-13 win.
 
UWS responded in set three, taking four of the first five points. Ziembiec tied it at 4-4 with a kill, and continued strong play from Molstad and Braxtyn Meyer kept the Cougars close. However, a four-point run from UWS gave them separation. The Cougars pulled within one after an ace from Ziembiec and a Molstad kill, but UWS closed the door with three straight points and took the set, 25-18.
 
Set four remained close early, with Holden registering a kill to make it 5-4 UWS. Kills from Ziembiec and Johnson tied the set at 6-6, but UWS began to pull away. A four-point run gave the Yellowjackets their largest lead at five, followed by another four-point surge to push it to eight. The Cougars couldn't recover, and UWS claimed the set, 25-14.
 
In the decisive fifth set, UWS opened with two quick points before Molstad and Johnson brought it back to 2-2. However, three straight Yellowjacket points gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. UMM struggled to put together a run, eventually falling 15-10 to drop the match.
 
Johnson and Ziembiec led the Cougars offensively with 14 kills each. Molstad added nine kills and hit .273. Holden dished out a team-high 29 assists, while Dornseif contributed 18. From the service line, Minnesota Morris tallied nine aces—Holden, Dornseif, Johnson, and Ziembiec each recorded two.
 
Defensively, Coon led the way with 25 digs, followed by Ziembiec with 16 and Johnson with 13. UMM recorded three blocks, with Ziembiec leading the team with two.
 
The Cougars return to action Tuesday night as they travel to Crown College for a 7 p.m. start.