Box Score You know you are up against a tough volleyball opponent when you hit .276 in a set and you still stand second best.

Such was the case Friday as Hamline dropped a 3-0 non-conference decision to Northwestern (MN) at Hutton Arena. The Eagles, who are now 14-6 overall, hit .322 for the night in claiming the verdict by scores of 25-19, 25-20, 25-12. 

Julia Zolnosky had 11 kills and Jena Meyer added 10 to leads the HU offense that kept the first two sets closer than the final score would indicate.  Vassi Prattas was the top tablesetter with 19 assists and Micki Green led the back wall brigade with 10 digs. 

In the opener, UNW jumped to an early six-point lead but the Pipers rallied to get within three at 17-14. However, that was close as they could get. The middle set was the best of the night. There were eight ties and five lead changes. HU got ahead by as many as three points at 8-5 only to see the Eagles get the next four points. It went back and forth from there until Northwestern broke a 17-all deadlock with three straight points. That was the set the Pipers hit a solid .276 only to see the visitors respond with a .308 effort. After trailing 3-1, UNW then took charge in the third set and stayed ahead the rest of the way.

Hamline is now 8-10 overall. They stand 1-4 in the MIAC, returning to the conference wars Saturday with a match against Macalester at Hutton. Game time is 3:00 p.m.