Morris, MN -- After defeating Crown College on the road last night, the North Central University (NCU) Women's Volleyball squad headed up to Morris to take on the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) Cougars. The first meeting between these two teams resulted in a 3-0 win for the Cougars in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, this one would not be much different as the Rams would lose their final regular season game by a score of three sets to none.
Set one would be a battle early, with neither team able to pull away. However, then some sloppy play by the Cougars and two NCU service aces from Maci Tripp and Katie martin would put the Rams up 13-8. Morris would fight back to eventually ties things at 15-15. The game would have four more ties before this one was all said and done. With the game tied at 21-all, the Cougars would go on a 4-1 run to seal set one 25-22.
The beginning of the second set was he definition of "back-and-forth" as there were 7 ties and 3 lead changes before the game would be knotted at 8-8. Unfortunately NCU would be plagued by errors as they totaled 10 in the set, and also found themselves trailing by 25-13 at the end of the set. Cougars would go up two sets to none.
Sydney Carlson would start off the set three scoring with a kill off an assist from junior Grace Brigson. The Rams would find themselves tied once again, this time 4-4. However, UMM would rattle off a 10-1 scoring run to take a commanding 14-5 lead over NCU. Kills from the Rams top three kill leaders in Sydney Carlson, Hailey Lerfald, and Lola Huhta would shrink the deficit to just 5 at 17-12. Morris would close this one out strong scoring 6 unanswered to win 25-14 and sweep the Rams in straight sets.
Box score can be found here.
Looking Ahead:
That wraps up the regular season for the Rams, as they will not qualify for the UMAC playoffs. However, NCU will tavel to Ankeny, Iowa next week to compete in the NCCAA North Regionals. Their semifinal matchup will be against the Trinity Bible College Lions next Thursday at 2:00 pm.
All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on Rams Volleyball and all things NCU Athletics.
