NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team fought off the hard charging Rams of North Central University (NCU) in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-23) win on Wednesday.

The Knights were in control for much of the match, but the Rams hung around with scrappy defensive play and forced the Knights to earn their points by committing only 10 attack errors for the match.

MLC was up to the task on the attack, recording 16 kills in each of the first two sets, and then finishing the match with 17 kills in the third and final set to secure the win.

MLC hit .215 on the attack overall, led by a stellar .409 mark by first-year middle hitter Abigail Winkel. Winkel recorded 10 kills and only one error in 22 total attacks, and also assisted on both MLC blocks in the match.

Junior Kelsey Birschbach led all players with 15 kills to go with 16 digs. Rhianna Hunter, Paige Biesterfeld and Kaylie Solomon each chipped in with six kills apiece. 

Kate Aswege also finished with 16 digs, while Kylie Wolf led MLC with 23 assists. 

MLC improved to 3-3 on the season and 1-3 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Thursday, March 25, when they travel to Minnesota Morris for a match scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.