University of Minnesota Morris Athletics

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team lost its first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference game, falling 3-0 (12-25, 17-25, 10-25) to (RV) University of Northwestern on Saturday morning in St. Paul, Minn.
 
The Eagles improve to 10-4 overall and 3-0 in the UMAC, while the Cougars drop to 9-7 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
 
The Cougars scored the opening two points of the match, with Natalie Wahl converting on a pair of attacks. The Eagles responded by scoring the following six points. The lead continued to grow as UNW went on a five-point run. Ella Johnson ended the rally with a kill set up by Sella Fleming. Braxtyn Meyer followed with her first kill of the match. UMM went on a 4-1 run, with Oliviah Lorber and Sella Fleming recording kills and Johnson scoring off the serve to chip away at the lead. It would not be enough, as Northwestern took set one 25-12.
 
Wahl, Lorber, and Johnson scored early to match the pace of Northwestern in set two. Wahl soon followed with a block to cut the lead down to three. Wahl added another kill to keep UNW within striking distance. A five-point Eagles rally pushed the lead to eight. Late in the set, Lorber, Meyer, and Wahl connected on attacks to help the offense. Tori Scheler scored the final two kills for the Cougars, but UMM fell in the second set 25-17.
 
The Eagles scored the opening three points of set three. Wahl answered back with a kill, then two straight aces to level the set at 3-3. Lorber and Johnson tallied kills to keep the Northwestern advantage to one. Northwestern gained separation after scoring seven in a row. Meyer ended the run with a kill set up by Fleming. The Eagles won the final set 25-10 after going on a 10-2 run.
 
Wahl led the attack with eight kills. Johnson followed with six, and Lorber rounded out the top three with four. Fleming totaled a team-high 19 assists. The Cougars had three aces, with two from Wahl and the other from Johnson. Defensively, Johnson totaled a team-high 14 digs, with Rachel Bopp adding 12. Wahl recorded the sole UMM block.
 
The Cougars host Crown College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for another UMAC match.