ASHLAND, Wis. – The Northland College Volleyball team fell in three sets (16-25, 12-25, 21-25) to the University of Minnesota, Morris in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Saturday morning in Ashland, Wis. The LumberJills fell to 4-8 in the UMAC and are two games back from Martin Luther College with two matches left.
 
The first set started neck and neck with the teams trading points. Elizabeth Montgomery scored three of the first four Northland points. The Cougars started to pull away with three unanswered points to go up 9-6. After that, the Jills played behind and could not catch UMM falling 16-26.
 
 Set two, the Cougars started strong scoring the first seven points. An attack error gave NC its first point of the set but UMM rattled off five more. When Minnesota Morris was at set point the LumberJills scored three in a row with kills from Kodie Rempp and Bailey Wynn and an ace from Alexa Zadra, but it was not enough falling 12-25.
 
The Jills' best set came in the third set where they hit a match-high .22. The lead traded hands many times early on. The Cougars were up 10-7 but four unanswered from Northland gave them back the lead. Kills from Ellie Kracht and Shelby Justman helped the Jills retake the lead. An attack error from the Cougars extended the lead to four at 16-12. Northland crept closer to 25 but Minnesota Morris strung together points to go ahead 21-20. Wynn recorded her eighth kill of the match to tied the set up but UMM scored the next four to win 25-21.
 
Wynn and Montgomery led NC in the match offensively with eight kills. Kracht had the best hitting percentage on the team at .455, scoring on five of her 11 attacks with no errors. Setting was split between Rempp and Megan Van Gheem with Rempp leading the duo at 15. The Jills had three service aces with Van Gheem scoring two back-to-back.
 
Alexa Zadra and Wynn tallied over 10 digs in the match with 15 and 12 respectively. Annika Herlevi finished behind the pair with five. At the net, Northland totaled four blocks, two solo and two assisted. Wynn and Montgomery recorded a solo and an assisted block in the match.
 
The Jills fight for a playoff spot as they enter the final week of the regular season. They start with Bethany Lutheran College on Friday at 7 p.m. The final match of the season could decide who's in the playoff with NC hosting Martin Luther College at 11 a.m.
 
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.