MORRIS, Minn. – Coming off the heels of a doubleheader sweep against North Central and No. 18 ranked Northwestern Saturday, the Yellowjacket volleyball team continued Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action Friday, traveling to James Gremmels Court to take on Minnesota Morris. The Cougars currently hold onto third in conference standings, entering the match with an overall record of 13-9 and a UMAC record of 8-2.
It took five sets for each team to defeat their respective opponents last time out. Friday's match would go the distance again, serving as the first time either team has played back-to-back five setters this season.
Minnesota Morris fell 2-0 in the match but completed the reverse sweep to earn a 3-2 victory over the Yellowjackets.
Match Notes
- Action commenced with Minnesota Morris grabbing the first two points, but the Yellowjackets answered back with two consecutive blocks, courtesy of Ayla Oltmanns (Gilbert, Minn./Duluth East) and Sydney smith, to even things up.
- Both squads kept things close midway through the first set, with either team unable to take more than a three-point advantage until Oltmanns landed a kill to make things 17-14. The Cougars committed a handful of attack errors to fall 21-15 but began to rally with a pair of kills.
- Makenna Hohbein (Holdingford, Minn./Holdingford) took a feed from Gabi Schwirtz (Plato, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake) to lead 23-19, which led to back-to-back Minnesota Morris errors to secure a 25-20 victory for UWS.
- During the early stages of the second set, the Yellowjackets got kills from Maiana Stark (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) and and Addy Gangl (Nashwauk, Minn./Nashwauk-Keewatin) to lead 7-4. UWS attempted to extend its lead, but the Cougars garnered points to tie things at 14 with kills and Yellowjacket miscues. UMM would take the lead after three consecutive points, forcing head coach Lynne Deadrick to call a timeout. This wouldn't hinder the Cougars' momentum, however, forcing another timeout just four points later.
- UW-Superior began to find its groove once again, forcing the Cougars to take a pair of quick timeouts, as well. Minnesota Morris began to counter and got ahead 24-21, but a Cougar serve just missed the mark, allowing UWS to rally and win the second set 26-24.
- The Cougars and Yellowjackets were unable to shake one another in the third, that was until Oltmanns and Smith doubled down on kills to give UWS a three-point lead at 14-11. UMM came back to tie things up at 19-19, ultimately taking the lead off Yellowjacket attack errors. Despite a comeback from UWS, the Cougars came back to earn a 26-24 win.
- UW-Superior opened the fourth with a 6-2 advantage, garnering four kills from Oltmanns. Once again both teams kept things interesting, trading both the lead and points. At 18-18, the Cougars got kills from two players, along with a Yellowjacket attack error, and never gave the lead away as they won the fourth 26-24.
- In the fifth and final set, the Yellowjackets leaped out to an early 6-3 lead. A kill from Minnesota Morris's Tori Scheler prompted six straight points for the home team, and from there the Yellowjackets couldn't recover, falling 15-7 and losing the match by a 3-2 decision.
- UW-Superior saw 15 kills from Stark and Oltmanns, while Smith added nine of her own.
- Stark ended her evening with 15.5 points, surpassing 1,000 collegiate points in her Yellowjacket career.
- Defensively, Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) was responsible for 31 digs, while Smith led the 'Jackets in blocks with six.
The Yellowjackets are back in action Saturday, traveling to Crown. The opening serve is set for 11 a.m. in St. Bonifacius, Minn.
