SUPERIOR, Wis.: The Yellowjacket volleyball team entered play Saturday afternoon sitting fourth in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, making their match with No. 5 Bethany Lutheran pivotal in more ways than one. Not only was it important with regard to playoff position, but also served as a potential playoff matchup when the post-season begins November 8.

On alumna day at Mertz Mortorelli Gym, the Yellowjackets jumped on the Vikings early on the way to a 3-0 sweep. Set scores were 25-11, 25-14, and 25-23 in the home regular season finale that wrapped in a snappy 71 minutes.

Cami Sletta (Willmar, Minn./Willmar Senior) and Cassy Teff (Foley, Minn./Foley) led Superior with 10 kills apiece, as the Yellowjackets improved to 12-15 overall and 4-2 in the UMAC.

The first set was dominated by the home team, as the Yellowjackets attacked at a .407 clip while the Vikings had a negative attack percentage. With the scored tied 3-3 the Yellowjackets broke it open, taking four straight points to build a cushion. The Yellowjackets would later have runs of five and six consecutive points to build an insurmountable 23-9 lead. A kill by Sletta closed out the first get to give the Yellowjackets the 1-0 lead.

Bethany Lutheran kept the second set close, staying with the Yellowjackets point-for-point early and moving ahead 8-6. The Yellowjackets would come back and tie the set 9-9 before blowing things open. A 15-2 run put the 'Jackets in position to take a commanding lead in the match. A kill from A.J. Runck (Annandale, Minn./Apple Valley) gave the Yellowjackets set point, and they closed it out on a Bethany Lutheran error to move ahead 2-0.

The Yellowjackets opened the third set with four points in a row, but Bethany Lutheran battled back and, in the midst of its biggest run of the day, pulled ahead 16-13. Later in the set, with the Vikings leading 20-18 the Yellowjackets rallied. A kill from Brylee Colligan (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) pulled them to within a point, and an error by the Vikings tied it. Teff followed with a kill and the Yellowjackets regained the lead. Then, with the scored tied 23-23, the Yellowjackets used a Viking error to move ahead and a Teff kill to get to match point. Another Bethany Lutheran error finished it off, giving the Yellowjackets the 3-0 win.

Gina Baertsch (Farmington, Minn./Farmington Area) was strong once again for the Yellowjackets finished with seven kills and five digs to go along with a team-high 22 assists. Megan Holz (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) added 13 assists and had six digs. On defense Yana Carrera (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West Senior) led the Yellowjackets with 18 digs, while Runck had four blocks to go along with five kills up front.

The Yellowjackets will close out the season with six straight matches on the road. The first will be Wednesday, October 23 when they travel to St. Paul to take on Northwestern. The match is set to being at 7:00 p.m. at Northwestern's Ericksen Center.