SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Regardless of the outcome Saturday, the 2024 season has been a magical ride for the Yellowjacket volleyball team.
 
The Yellowjackets won more games this season, 24, than in any other season under the direction of head coach Lynne Deadrick. Senior Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) was named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, an award-winning rarity. There was a four-match streak at the tournament in Texas to open the season, and an upset of then No. 18-ranked Northwestern in a five-set thriller just three weeks ago at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
 
Speaking of Northwestern, the Eagles were the Yellowjackets' opponent Saturday night, as the teams squared off for the third time in 2024, this time with the UMAC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
 
The Yellowjackets showed some spark and hung with the UMAC's top seed, but in the end, Northwestern was just too tough, taking the championship 3-0 at the Ericksen Center. Set scores were 25-21, 25-16 and 25-22.
 
Offensively, the Yellowjackets had difficulty getting going, and posted an attack percentage of .089 for the match. Ayla Oltmanns (Gilbert, Minn./Duluth East) and Marena Saeger (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) led the way, each posting a team-best seven kills. Setter Colleen Claude (Centuria, Wis./Homeschool) finished the match with 14 assists, to lead the Yellowjackets.
 
On defense, Anderson led the Yellowjackets with 17 digs.
 
Match Notes

• Northwestern set the tone early, winning the first four points of the match. The Yellowjackets did manage to close the gap and pull to within one thanks to kills from Oltmanns and Maiana Stark (Germantown, Wis./Germantown), but Northwestern never let the Yellowjackets come all the way back and pull in front. A 3-0 run helped Northwestern build the lead up to five, and later a 4-0 run helped them build a 20-12 lead. The Yellowjackets rallied, but it was too little, too late and the Eagles took the set.
• In the second the Yellowjackets came out firing and took an early 4-1 lead behind kills from Oltmanns and Sydney Smith (Milltown, Wis./Unity). But Northwestern came back with a vengeance and took the lead. The Yellowjackets countered, going on a 5-1 run to lead 10-7. Again, however, Northwestern rallied, this time going on an 8-1 run to take the lead and give itself some breathing room. UWS got to within three at 16-13, but that's as close as it would get and the Eagles went up 2-0 in the match.
• The Yellowjackets again started strong in the third set, building up an 8-4 lead on the strength of kills from Oltmanns, Saeger and Addy Gangl (Nashwauk, Minn./Nashwauk-Keewatin). Northwestern would rally to take the lead, but the Yellowjackets wrestled it back with a 4-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back kills from Makenna Hohbein (Holdingford, Minn./Holdingford), to lead 14-12. With a 19-16 lead, it was looking like the Yellowjackets were on the verge of closing out the set and pushing the match to a fourth, but Northwestern had other ideas. The Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take the lead, a lead they would never relinquish, on the way to taking the set and the match, 3-0.
• Hohbein finished the match with five kills and eight digs.
• Claude added nine digs.
• Gabi Schwirtz (Plato, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake) posted 12 assists in addition to one kill.

The Yellowjackets close the season with a 24-8 record.
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