ASHLAND, Wis. – The Northland College Volleyball team steps away from Upper Midwest Athletic Conference competition to compete in three nonconference matches this weekend. The Jills look to build momentum in nonconference play before starting the second half of UMAC action.
 
The Jills travel to De Pere, Wis., for a 4:30 p.m., match with St. Norbert College. Saturday Northland will compete at the Ripon College Triangular in Ripon Wis. NC starts its day with Ripon College at 10 a.m., followed by Maranatha Baptist University at noon.
 
St. Norbert is 12-10 this season and currently riding a six-game winning streak. The Green Knights are led by Brooke Clement with 272 kills this season, averaging 3.78 kills per set. Defensively Erin Eggers has a team-high 426 digs, sixth in DIII. This is the second time the LumberJills and Green Knights have matched up. In the first contest, SNC took the match in three sets in 2010.
 
The three teams competing in the Ripon College Triangular are Ripon College, Maranatha Baptist and Northland College. The LumberJills take on the host in the first game of the tournament. The Red Hawks are 6-14 and have dropped their last 11 games. 2021 was the only time these teams have squared up with RC winning in four sets. The Sabercats and Jills play the next game at noon. MBU is 11-9 this season, winning its last three matches in three sets. The series is split 2-2, with Northland winning the last two matchups.
 
Northland College is coming off a split weekend falling to Martin Luther College in three sets then topping Bethany Lutheran College 3-2 on the road. The Jills are 5-9 overall and sit in fifth in the UMAC at 3-4, only one game back from the playoffs.
 
Fifth-year student Baily Wynn leads Northland with 144 kills this season. Wynn ranks fourth in the UMAC averaging 2.82 kills per set. Britta Josephson and Elizabeth Montgomery also rank in the top 20 in kills per set in 13^th and 16^th. The pair have tallied over 100 kills as well with Josephson at 115 and Montgomery at 106. Senior Megan Van Gheem leads the conference at 8.29 assists per set and is sixth in service aces at 0.41 per set.
 
Defensively, senior Alexa Zadra paces the Jills with 252 digs, per set she ranks fourth in the UMAC at 4.94. Wynn is not too far behind her at 186 total digs and is ninth in the conference at 3.65 per set. At the net, Montgomery has tallied 23 blocks, five from the last week.
 
Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.