ST. PAUL - The Martin Luther College volleyball team lost its regular season finale 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-12) at Northwestern on Friday.

The Eagles, who entered the match ranked number 18 in the nation according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), sprinted out of the gates to a first set win, but the Knights battled back in the second, taking a 22-19 lead before UNW closed the set with six straight points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

UNW kept the momentum from the second set going into the third, racing to an 8-2 lead and then pulling away at the end to finish off the win.

Kira Grev was the top MLC hitter with seven kills and an attack percentage of .261 for the match. Jade St. Germaine added six kills, while Emily Neeb finished with a team-high 12 digs.

MLC finished the regular season 10-21 overall and 5-3 in UMAC play, good for fourth place in the final conference standings. UNW improved its record to 28-3 on the season and 8-0 in league play, and also secured the outright conference championship with the win.

The Knights now move on to the UMAC Championships, held next week. MLC will open the tournament on Monday, October 31, when it hosts Bethany Lutheran in a match scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The winner of that quarterfinal match will face top seed Northwestern in Wednesday's semi-final round.