Yellowjackets Sweep Northland, Win Third Straight

Mackenzie Dahlin had a team-high 10 digs Tuesday against Northland.

Box Score

Yellowjackets 3, Northland 0

The Yellowjacket volleyball team, fresh off its first UMAC win of the season, returned to UMAC play Tuesday night with a match at Northland College in Ashland. The two teams share familiarity even though it is their first season as conference opponents. Always a fixture on one another's schedules, the Yellowjackets and Lumberjills were meeting for the third time this season Tuesday, only this time the game counted in the UMAC standings.

And fortunately for the Yellowjackets, the result Tuesday was the same as the first two meetings.

The Yellowjackets employed a balanced attack, both on offense and defense on the way to a 3-0 win over the Lumberjills. The win, the third in a row for the Yellowjackets, was also their second straight in UMAC play.

The closest set of the match came in the opener with the teams trading the lead like Wall Street brokers trade stocks. The Yellowjackets jumped out quickly, leading 6-2 before the Lumberjills came back and took a 7-6 edge. Northland built a small lead, but the Yellowjackets would come back to tie the score several times, at 11-11, 12-12, and 13-13. The Yellowjackets took the lead for good at 14-13, and later enjoyed a 6-2 run to close out the first set with a 25-20 victory.

In the second set things were close early with the teams trading points and Northland eventually gaining a 7-6 lead. The Yellowjackets followed with a 5-0 run to move ahead for the duration of the set. At one point Northland got it back to within two, but it wasn't enough and the Yellowjackets pulled away and cruised to a 25-15 win.

There wasn't much drama in the third set, as the Yellowjackets led from wire-to-wire. The lead bulged to as many as ten points, but in the end the Yellowjackets settled for a nine-point win, taking the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.

Consistent Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) led the Yellowjackets on offense, finishing the match with 12 kills on 33 attacks. She was the only Yellowjacket with double-digit kills. Molly Trapp (Esko, Minn./Esko) added eight kills and Ashlee Bayer (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) had seven. Reigning UMAC Setter of the Week Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) was her usual self, finishing the match with 27 assists. VerWay also led the Yellowjackets with two service aces, and on defense was tied with Mackenzie Dahlin (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) for the team lead in digs with 10. Bandelin and Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) each had nine digs.

As a team the Yellowjackets had an attack percentage of .196, while on the other side Northland struggled. The Lumberjills committed 23 attack errors and had an attack percentage of .009. Camille Eastburn led the Lumberjills with a match-high 14 kills.

The Yellowjackets (11-6, 2-0 UMAC) are at home Saturday when they host they UW-Superior Triangle at Mertz Mortorelli Gym. The Yellowjackets will take on the University of Minnesota Morris at 2:00 p.m. in a UMAC contest and UW-River Falls at 6:00 p.m. in non-conference action. River Falls and Minnesota Morris will play at match at 4:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#16 Stephanie Bandelin: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

#12 Mackenzie Dahlin: DS; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#1 Emily VerWay: S; 5' 7"; Freshman

#3 Karlie Leif: DS; 5' 6"; Freshman

#15 Molly Trapp: RSH; 6' 6"; Freshman

#18 Ashlee Bayer: MH; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#16 Stephanie Bandelin
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH

#12 Mackenzie Dahlin
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: DS

#1 Emily VerWay
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: S

#3 Karlie Leif
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: DS

#15 Molly Trapp
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: RSH

#18 Ashlee Bayer
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: MH