The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team survived a late surge from Bethany Lutheran College on Senior Night, defeating the Vikings, 3-1 (25-20, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22). The Cougars had 11 players with at least one kill, including eight players who had four or more. The win keeps Minnesota Morris in a tie for second place in the UMAC at 12-11 (8-3 UMAC).
The first two sets were controlled by Minnesota Morris. The Cougars hit .417 as a team in the first set with 16 kills against just one error, then came back with a .333 hitting percentage in the second set. The Vikings were competitive with UMN Morris in the first set, but then committed nine attack errors in the second set and hit -.070 as a team.
After a see-saw beginning to the first set, the final Bethany Lutheran lead came at 14-13. The Vikings then committed three straight attacking errors with a kill from McKenzie Newton capping a four-point swing by the Cougars to go up, 17-14. Bethany Lutheran twice pulled within a point from there, but with the score 20-18 in favor of Minnesota Morris, the Cougars received two straight kills from Maggie Jones, followed by two more from Lydia Nash to make it 24-18. BLC fought off a pair of set points but Nash was able to end it and put Minnesota Morris on top in the match.
The second set was somewhat close at the start, with a service error from Minnesota Morris cutting its lead down to 8-6. A kill from Brooke Christensen gave the ball back to the Cougars and the serve of Laura Wellbrock ballooned the UMN Morris lead to 19-6. The Vikings got no closer than nine points after that, with a ShaeAnn Nelson kill ending it to give the Cougars a commanding 2-0 edge.
Minnesota Morris was closing in on a sweep in the third set, holding a 22-18 advantage after a kill from Jenna Howden. Out of nowhere, Bethany Lutheran ripped off six straight points to take a 24-22 lead and earn a set point. Paige Hinze had a kill for the Cougars to fight off one, but the Vikings ended the set on the next point to slice the UMN Morris lead down to 2-1.
The fourth set was another battle. With the score tied at 11-11, Minnesota Morris scored four straight with kills from Kennedy Geller, Howden, Wellbrock, and an ace from Nash. Bethany Lutheran refused to go quietly, pulling within a point on three occasions, the last of which came at 22-21. Down the stretch, the Cougars earned a match point after a kill from Wellbrock and a block from Nash and Geller. At 24-22, Nash ended it with her tenth kill of the night.
Wellbrock ended the night with a double-double, registering 12 kills and 14 digs. Nash had six digs in addition to her 10 kills. Howden had seven kills and seven digs. McKenzie Newton also had a double-double for the Cougars with 39 assists and 18 digs. Alyssa Ukestad approached a career high in digs with 38 on the night.
Minnesota Morris faces a big day tomorrow at Jim Gremmels Court. First up is a 12 p.m. match with Martin Luther College, who enter the match tied with the Cougars for second place in the UMAC. Following a neutral-site match between Martin Luther and the University of Wisconsin-Stout at approximately 2 p.m., the Cougars will face UW-Stout in a non-conference match beginning at about 4 p.m.
