NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team finished an undefeated opening week of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play with a 3-0 sweep of UW-Superior (UWS) by the scores of 25-23, 26-24 and 25-23.

The two teams battled back and forth throughout, with both teams extending rallies with effort and skill. 

MLC jumped in front early and held off a late UWS charge to win the first set, but looked to be in trouble in the second set as the Yellowjackets built a 20-13 lead. 

After the Knights got a side out, Kelsey Birschbach served eight straight points to erase the deficit and give MLC a 22-20 lead. The Yellowjackets fought back to tie the set 24-24, but a kill by Hannah Willems, followed by a solo block from Lauren Paulsen, gave the Knights a 2-0 lead in the match.

The battle continued throughout the third set, but the Knights stood tall at the end with a Birschbach kill and Kylie Wolf ace to close the match.

Birschbach and Paulsen led the Knights with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Willems continued her stellar week with seven kills and a .300 attack efficiency. Willems also added a team-high four blocks.

Kate Aswege led all players with 24 digs. Wolf recorded 23 assists and also added 12 digs.

The MLC win snapped a five-match losing streak to the Yellowjackets in the all-time series. The Knights' most recent win over UWS prior to Saturday came on September 27, 2017.

The Knights improved to 4-8 on the season and 3-0 in UMAC play with the win. UWS fell to 4-9 overall and 2-1 in league play in defeat. 

MLC will return to action on Wednesday, September 29, when it hosts Carleton College in a non-conference match scheduled to start at 7 p.m.