ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team swept Crown College 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-15) in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Tuesday night in St. Bonifacius.
The win improves the Cougars to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in the UMAC, while the Polars drop to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Ella Johnson started the match with a kill after being set up by
Sella Fleming.
Bella Nelson recorded an early block for the team's second point and followed it up with a kill. A five-point Cougar run was sparked by a kill from
Braxtyn Meyer. Meyer later recorded a block and then scored off the serve to push the lead to five. Crown chipped away at the lead to trail 13-10. Fleming assisted on points from Nelson and
Tori Scheler to force a Crown timeout. Out of the timeout, Minnesota Morris scored the next three points, capped off by a block from Johnson and Scheler to push the advantage to nine. The Cougars held the lead to take set one, 25-17.
Minnesota Morris scored the first point of the second set when
Natalie Wahl connected on an attack. Points were traded early, with Nelson and Scheler scoring for the Cougars. Johnson started the first large rally of the set with a kill. UMM would score eight of the next nine points, with Fleming, Scheler, Wahl and Meyer adding to the run. The Cougars continued to score in bunches, with Johnson tallying another kill to grow the lead to 19-9.
Johanna Bartkey got in on the action, combining on a block with Meyer late in the set. Scheler ended the set with a successful block, giving UMM a 25-15 win.
The Cougars scored first in all three sets, with Scheler scoring to kick off the third set. The lead continued to grow as Wahl scored off the serve, extending the advantage to four. Kills from Scheler and Johnson, along with a block from Meyer and Johnson, forced a Polar timeout. Crown then leveled the set at 8-8. Minnesota Morris started to gain separation with a 7-1 rally highlighted by kills from Johnson and aces from Nelson and Johnson. Wahl started a late rally with another kill that grew the lead to double digits. Johnson ended the match with a kill, giving the Cougars the 25-15 victory.
Johnson and Scheler led the attack with 14 and 10 kills, respectively. The duo did not commit an attack error in the match, with Scheler hitting .667 and Johnson hitting .538. As a team, Minnesota Morris had its best hitting match of the season at .343 while hitting .444 in the second set. Fleming set up 33 points. From the service line, the Cougars scored five points, with Johnson totaling a team-high two aces.
Defensively,
Rachel Bopp paced the team with 16 digs. Wahl followed with 10, while
Clara Holden rounded out the top three with eight. The Cougars recorded eight blocks, with Scheler accounting for four of them, including one solo and three assisted.
The Cougars continue UMAC play on Thursday as they host Bethany Lutheran College at 7 p.m.
