New Ulm, MN - On Saturday the MLC volleyball team played in their long-awaited home opener when they squared off against North Central and Northwestern. The volleyball squad also celebrated Parents' Day in front of the home crowd before getting the day going. The Knights played hard against both schools but lost to the Rams 3-1 and 3-0 to the Eagles.

North Central 3, MLC 1

MLC was competitive in the first match, having a great chance to win in all four sets, but North Central made winning plays towards the end of each set to get past the Knights. There was a lot of back-and-forth action as there were 28 tie scores and 17 lead changes between the two schools. 

Sydney Carlson was vital on the attack (15 kills) and Hailey Learfield impacted defense (6 blocks) to lead the Rams. Grace Brigson also had a big match, leading North Central in assists (32) and digs (14).

MLC gutted out a win in the third set 29-27 following 15 kills, as Lauren Paulsen connected on three consecutive points to close the set. At that point, the Knights made it 2-1 and had an early lead in the fourth set, but North Central pushed forward after it was tied 22-22 and edged MLC 25-23.

Lydia Feidt and Paulsen had a team-best 13 kills, with Feidt hitting .333 for the match. Ella Schlei and Grace Kieselhorst recorded 11 kills apiece. Ella Walz delivered a team-high 24 assists, while Kieselhorst also came up big in that department picking up 22 assists.

Northwestern 3, MLC 0

The Eagles were efficient on the attack (.322) throughout the three sets played in the later match.  Abby Glanzer led the charge with eight kills and one error (.412), while Ari Schmidt produced eight kills offensively for Northwestern. Addeson Jenniges (16) and Grace Strickfaden (14) paced the Eagles in assists. 

Walz notched 10 assists as Anna Kieselhorst finished with eight digs.

Despite the loss, MLC recorded one more ace than Northwestern (4-3).

MLC goes to 4-13, 1-3 and resumes UMAC play in their next match at Crown on Friday, October 4, at 7 p.m.

Despite the loss, MLC recorded one more ace (4-3) than Northwestern