ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team continued its winning streak, defeating Augsburg University 3-1 (25-15, 25-20, 26-28, 25-19) in the first match of the St. Paul Classic on Friday in St. Paul, Minn.
The Auggies started the match by scoring the first five points. The Cougars responded with a four-point run, with
Ella Johnson,
Tori Scheler, and
Bella Nelson scoring on the attack. A kill from
Sella Fleming kicked off a seven-point rally to put the Cougars in front.
Natalie Wahl scored three of the seven points during the run.
Braxtyn Meyer extended the lead by scoring off the serve. Minnesota Morris strung together seven points to reach set point. Scheler and Nelson totaled two blocks during the stretch. Nelson sealed the set after being set up by Fleming to give UMM a 25-15 win.
Scheler scored the opening point of the second set. The following five points were traded between the teams. A three-point run with kills from Meyer and Wahl extended the lead to 8-6. The Auggies scored the next two points, but UMM answered with four points, highlighted by a block from Wahl and Scheler and a kill from Wahl. Another four-point run pushed the advantage to six, with Wahl and Johnson scoring on attacks. The Cougars held onto the lead for the remainder of the set to win 25-20.
Just like in the previous set, Scheler scored the first point for UMM after being set up by Fleming. The largest early lead was 8-5 for Augsburg, but it was soon erased after a pair of errors. The Cougars took their first lead of the set at 14-13 after scoring three points in a row. Meyer and Scheler scored on back-to-back points, pushing the lead to 16-14. Later in the set, Johnson scored three points in a row to get the Cougars to match point at 24-19. The Auggies scored the next five points to draw level. Augsburg scored four of the final six points to take the third set, 28-26.
Minnesota Morris scored the first five points of the fourth set, coming from kills by Wahl and Nelson, a block by Nelson and Scheler, and an ace from Fleming. The Auggies started to chip away at the lead. Nelson and Johnson recorded kills to restore a three-point cushion. Johnson and Fleming scored down the stretch to keep UMM in front. Nelson sparked a four-point rally to extend the lead to 18-12. Minnesota Morris held onto the lead and took the set and match at 25-19.
The Cougars finished the match hitting .188, with their best set coming in the first at .367. Wahl led the attack with 14 kills, while Nelson and Johnson also finished in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively. Fleming assisted on a career-high 38 points. Fleming and Meyer each recorded an ace.
Defensively,
Rachel Bopp tallied 23 digs, with Johnson following with 21.
Clara Holden rounded out the top three with 19. The Cougars recorded seven assisted blocks, with Nelson being a part of five.
The Cougars play two matches tomorrow (Saturday), with the first at 10 a.m. against Carleton College.
