Volleyball Splits Pair At Florida Southern For Second Straight Day

The Northwood University volleyball team wrapped up competition at the Florida Southern Terrace Hotel Classic Saturday afternoon (September 7) by going 1-1 for the second straight day. The Timberwolves opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Anderson (SC) by the scores of 25-19, 29-27, 22-25, 25-22.  The Timberwolves then dropped a 3-1 contest to Belmont Abbey (22-25, 27-25, 25-18, 25-17).

Northwood finishes the weekend with a 2-2 record.

Northwood 3, Anderson 1

In the Anderson match, Northwood got off to a slow start in the opening set, falling behind 7-2.  But the Timberwolves fought back, scoring eight of the next 10 points to go up 10-9.  NU never allowed Anderson to get any momentum after that, earning a side out on every serve from that point on.  NU scored nine of the final 14 points to take a 1-0 lead.

The second set was extremely close throughout, with neither team ever leading by more than two points.  Each team had a pair of set points before Northwood finally put it away at 29-27.

In the third set, it was Anderson's turn to rally from an early deficit.  The Trojans trailed 10-6 early in the set, but scored seven of the next eight points to go up 13-11.  The set was eventually tied at 16 before Anderson earned the set 25-22 to cut the NU lead to 2-1.

A big run in the latter portions of the final set proved to be the difference for Northwood.  Anderson led 13-12 when Northwood scored eight of the next 10 points to go up 20-15.  The Trojans got within two points late in the set, but it was not enough.

For the match, Anderson finished with a slightly higher attack percentage (.169-.166), but Northwood finished with 23 more kills (64-41), 14 more digs (76-62) and four more aces (6-2).

Juliia Pakhomenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) led the way for Northwood, finishing with 23 kills. Cassandra Marsh (Maumee, Ohio) added 10 kills, while Jordan Dunn (Bowling Green, Ohio) had six kills on 14 attempts (.429), 48 assists, three aces, 14 digs and two blocks.  Kristin Perschon (Schaumburg, Ill. / Conant) had eight kills and a .444 attack percentage.

Belmont Abbey 3, Northwood 1

Unlike their match against Anderson earlier in the day, Northwood got off to a strong start against Belmont Abbey.  The Timberwolves scored seven of the first 10 points of the match.  The Crusaders fought back, eventually tying the match at 21-21 late in the opening set.  But Northwood finished strong, scoring four of the final five points to take a 1-0 lead.  

NU played another tight set in the second, with neither team ever leading by more than two points.  The Timberwolves had a set point at 25-24 to take a 2-0 lead, but were unable to take advantage.  Belmont Abbey responded by scoring the final three points of the set to win 27-25 and even the match at one.

The Crusaders took control of the third set at the midway point of action.  With BA leading 13-12, the Crusaders scored seven straight points to go up 20-12 and put the set away.

Northwood led 15-10 in the final set when the Crusaders got on a big roll, rattling off 11 straight points to go up 20-15.  NU miscues in that run played a big role, as Belmont Abbey earned six of their 11 points off Northwood errors.

For the match, the Timberwolves finished with 10 more kills 51-41 and a 7-6 edge in aces.  But errors were the key to the match for the Crusaders, as Northwood finished with 35 attack errors to just 18 for Belmont Abbey.

Pakhomenko led Northwood with 15 kills.  Perschon added 11, while Dunn had 34 assists and a match-high 22 digs.

Northwood travels to the North Alabama Tournament next Friday and Saturday (Sept. 13 & 14).