NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team closed the first half of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) season with a thrilling 3-1 win over the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) Cougars by the scores of 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21.

The Cougars entered the day with a 16-match win streak against MLC, dating back to September 21, 2012, but the Knights showed no sign of backing down from the start. UMM held a 20-17 lead late in the first set, but Kelsey Birschbach and Lauren Paulsen capped an MLC comeback with emphatic kills to give the Knights a 1-0 lead in the match.

MLC rode that momentum in the second game as Kate Aswege served nine straight early points to help the Knights push their lead in the match to 2-0.

UMM fought back to win the third set 25-23, but the Knights would not be denied in the fourth, building an early lead and holding off the charging Cougars at the end to secure the win.

Birschbach led all players with a season-best 16 kills to go with 15 digs. Paulsen added 10 kills, while Rhianna Hunter set a new career high with 11 kills and hit .364 on the attack.

Kylie Wolf recorded her fourth double-double of the conference season with 24 assists and 10 digs. Aswege finished with a team-best 21 digs, while Naomi Bridgemen chipped in with 15 digs. 

MLC improved to 7-10 on the season and 6-1 in UMAC play with the win. UMM fell to 9-9 overall and 5-2 in league play in defeat.

The Knights' 6-1 start to the conference season is the program's best since the 2006 season, when they started conference play 10-0.

MLC will return to action on Tuesday, October 12, when it hosts Bethany Lutheran in a match scheduled to start at 7 p.m.