Minnesota, Morris 3
Martin Luther College 1
The Cougar Den is proving a comfortable place for UMM who is now 7-1 at home. For the second time in two nights, the Cougar volleyball team held off a scrappy opponent for a 3-1 win.
On Saturday afternoon, it was the Knights of Martin Luther College coming to the PE Center.
In the first set, the teams traded rallies back and forth with neither team able to open a lead greater than three points. Late mistakes by the Knights would be the difference. With MLC leading 21-19, a service error by the Knights and serving ace by Jordan Olerud tied the game. Attack errors from MLC gave the Cougars a two point lead at 23-21. An MLC serving error closed the set at 25-23.
The Cougars appeared to be running away with the second set when they opened a 20-13 lead. But the Knights rallied behind long serving runs from Jaime Eternick and libero Renee Peters and tied the game at 23. The teams traded rally points until junior Lindsay Jacobson came on serve. First year Justine Banken closed the set with a kill for a 29-27 decision.
Having found some momentum in the second set, MLC won the third 25-19.
The Cougars struggled to distance themselves in the fourth set. The teams were tied at 15 when Michelle Hanson served four straight points, aided by kills from Allie Humphrey and Jen Bissel. That small jump proved to be the difference. Another kill from Bissel closed the match.
At the net, the Cougars were led by junior Megan Theis (14 kills) and Banken (13 kills). Defensively, Jacobson and sophomore Natalie Thomas led with 16 and 10 digs respectively.
The win improves the Cougars' record to 9-10 overall and 3-1 in conference. This week they travel for games at St. Scholastica (Thursday) and Northland College (Friday).
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