MORRIS, Minn. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team lost both matches on day two of the UMAC Preview Tournament hosted by Minnesota Morris on Saturday. Northwestern swept the Knights 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-14) to open the day, and then MLC lost 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-17) against Minnesota Morris.

The UMAC Preview Tournament features the top five teams from last season in conference play, with each team playing a round robin against the others. All four matches in the tournament are non-conference matches. 

UNW 3, MLC 0

Northwestern was picked to win the conference in the preseason coaches' poll, and showed why in a 3-0 win over MLC to open the day by the scores of 25-19, 25-13 and 25-14.

The Knights hit .280 in the first set, but fell off to hit .061 in the second and then -.056 in the final game. UNW hit .267 for the match.

Moriah Hackbarth was the top hitter for MLC with nine kills, while Grace Schultz added six kills and hit .455. 

Rylee Weisensel led MLC with five blocks, including a pair of solo blocks.

UMM 3, MLC 1

MLC took an early lead against Minnesota Morris, but ultimately lost 3-1 by the scores of 23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-17 in the final match of the tournament.

The Knights finished the match with 14 total blocks and held UMM to an attack percentage of .156 for the match, but were unable to come away with the win.

The middle hitters for MLC were both strong, as Weisensel finished with nine blocks, seven kills and an attack percentage of .462. Jenna Miller hit .375 with six kills and four blocks. 

Kira Grev led the team with 11 kills, while Emily Neeb recorded 23 digs.

MLC fell to 4-10 on the season with the two defeats. The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, September 20, when they host Bethany Lutheran in a non-conference match scheduled to start at 7 p.m.