MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team swept North Central University, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-21), in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, Minn.
 
The Cougars improve to 11-10 overall and 5-4 in the UMAC, while the Rams drop to 6-11 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
 
Ella Johnson gave the Cougars their first lead of the opening set with a service ace. Mary Cate Ziembiec followed with a kill, and a block by Braxtyn Meyer and Ziembiec capped off a four-point run. Bella Nelson recorded her first kill, increasing the lead back to three. The Cougars went on another four-point rally highlighted by kills from Anna Molstad and Ziembiec, along with an ace from Allison Dornseif. Minnesota Morris continued to extend its lead with a 5-1 run featuring points from Molstad, Dornseif, and Johnson. Late in the set, Lexi Coon sparked a five-point rally. During that stretch, Johnson scored off the serve, Meyer and Ziembiec combined for two blocks, and Meyer capped it off with a kill. Ziembiec closed out the opening set with an ace, giving UMM a 25-16 victory.
 
The Cougars started the second set strong, scoring 13 of the first 14 points. Early on, Clara Holden recorded an ace, Johnson tallied three aces, Ziembiec totaled four kills, and Nelson added a successful attack. Minnesota Morris then strung together five more points to go up by 13, with Tori Scheler and Molstad each recording kills. Payton Stangl scored the final point, assisted by Ashley Rogers, to secure the 25-14 win.
 
After dropping the first two points of the third set, the Cougars responded with the next seven. Rachel Bopp added a pair of aces, while Oliviah Lorber and Nelson each contributed a kill. Lorber later scored off the serve to make it 9-5. The Rams pulled within one after taking the next three points, but Nelson's attack helped UMM regain control. The Cougars extended their lead to seven with a five-point run highlighted by kills from Bopp and Lorber, along with an ace from Coon. Molstad started another Cougar rally with a kill, and Holden added two aces to bring Minnesota Morris within two points of victory. Bopp scored to set up match point, and Johnson sealed the win with a kill to close out the set, 25-21.
 
Ziembiec led the attack with 11 kills. Molstad followed with seven kills while hitting .636 with no errors, and Nelson rounded out the top three with five kills. Holden had a team-high 10 assists, followed by Dornseif with seven and Rogers with six. Minnesota Morris recorded 15 service aces in the win, led by Johnson with a match-high five.
 
Coon led the defense with 11 digs, while Johnson and Holden followed with eight and seven, respectively. UMM tallied five total blocks, with Meyer and Ziembiec leading the team with three assisted blocks apiece.
 
The Cougars return home on Oct. 31 as they host Martin Luther College at 7 p.m.