University of Minnesota Morris Athletics

MORRIS, Minn. – Head coach Joe Sussenguth of the University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team became the winningest coach in program history after defeating North Central University, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-17), in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Friday night.
 
The win improves the Cougars to 9-6 overall and 4-0 in the UMAC, while the Rams drop to 4-7 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
 
Oliviah Lorber recorded the first Cougar kill to give UMM its first lead at 3-2. Braxtyn Meyer scored back-to-back points to level the set at 6-6. Natalie Wahl and Ella Johnson scored on attacks to push the lead to two. The lead grew to five after four straight NCU errors. Tori Scheler tallied her first kill of the match after being set up by Sella Fleming. A block from Meyer sparked a four-point UMM run, with Wahl adding a kill and Johnson scoring off the serve. The Cougars reached set point on a kill from Lorber and took the set, 25-18.
 
The Rams scored the first two points of the second set. Minnesota Morris responded with four straight, with Scheler adding two kills and Wahl recording one. North Central rallied back and took an early two-point lead. An ace from Johnson erased the advantage at 8-8. A block from Fleming and Scheler helped the Cougars keep pace. Wahl scored on an attack, then followed with a service point to put the Cougars back in front, 14-13. Lorber and Meyer combined on a block to extend the lead to three. Johnson recorded a kill, with Meyer following with a kill and a block to push the lead to 21-15. The advantage continued to grow after kills from Wahl and Johnson. Scheler closed out the set with a kill, giving UMM a 25-19 win.
 
Minnesota Morris scored five of the first six points of the third set on kills from Wahl, Scheler, Lorber and Johnson. The Rams started to close the gap, but Lorber scored again to keep UMM on top. NCU took the lead at 9-8 after a three-point run. The Cougars answered right back with seven straight points, including kills from Fleming and Meyer and an ace from Johnson. Minnesota Morris continued to push the lead with NCU errors and attacks from Wahl. The Cougars scored the final two points of the set on kills from Meyer and Johnson to take the final set, 25-17.
 
Wahl led the attack with 11 kills. Meyer followed with nine while hitting a team-high .400. Johnson rounded out the top three with six kills. As a team, UMM hit .248, with its best set coming in the third at .368. Fleming tallied 26 assists in the three-set win. The Cougars recorded four aces, with Johnson totaling three.
 
Defensively, Johnson paced the team with 14 digs, followed by Wahl with 13 and Ryla Koehler and Rachel Bopp recorded 10. Minnesota Morris totaled five blocks, with Meyer recording four.
 
The Cougars travel to (RV) University of Northwestern for a 10:30 a.m. match.