ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. --- Crown volleyball won their first UMAC game of the season on Tuesday, beating North Central in the first game of a triangular in their home opener. First-year Gracie Zieroth made her own history, with eight aces in a single match, beating Trisha Birr's 2012 mark of seven. 

In game one of the triangular, North Central stole the first set from Crown, who held a lead late but couldn't convert it into a victory. In the second, third, and fourth sets, however, Crown breezed by, not allowing the Rams to hit 20 points again. 

There were plenty of impressive performances in the first game, starting with the record-setting Zieroth's eight aces. Fellow first-year Elizabeth Clark had an incredible 32 assists in the game, with no setting errors. Clark also had Crown's sole block in the contest. Junior Christine Anderson led the offensive attack, with 16 kills and only four errors for a hitting percentage over the .400 spot. Crown employed a stellar team defense against North Central with five athletes having ten or more digs: Madeline Svoboda (16), Sarah Reinke (15), Zieroth (11), Clark (10), and Courtney Gunderson (10). 

"I'm really proud of my team and how we played that game [against NCU]," said Zieroth. "All the glory to God."

In game two of the triangular, Crown played reigning UMAC Champion Northwestern, who looked the part of a powerhouse, as they swept both Crown and North Central. In the game against UNW, Anderson had four blocks, and both she and Karissa Steinkamp led the Storm with five kills each. Clark added ten more assists on the day and Reinke led with nine digs. 

Crown heads to up to UW-Superior for another triangular event on Saturday with UM-Morris joining the Storm and Yellowjackets.