Volleyball Earns 3-2 Win Over Lewis To Open GLIAC/GLVC Crossover

The Northwood University volleyball team earned a big 3-2 win over Lewis to open play at the 2013 GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Friday afternoon (October 25). Set scores were 25-27, 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12.

Northwood, the No. 4 seed out of the GLIAC, improves to 14-6 overall on the season.  Lewis, the top-seed out of the GLVC, falls to 15-6 overall.

The Timberwolves got off to a strong start in the opening set, taking a 12-5 lead early on.  Lewis chipped away at the NU lead, but the Timberwolves still led 23-20 late when the Flyers made a final run to earn a 1-0 lead.  Lewis scored seven of the final nine points to take the set 27-25.  Lewis hit .184 (16-7-49) while Northwood finished at .163 (15-8-43).

NU bounced back from the disappointment of the first set, opening up a 16-9 lead thanks to a 5-0 run.  Lewis eventually cut the lead to 22-20, but Northwood finished off the set to even the match at 1-1. Both offenses picked up their play in the second set – NU hit .250 (15-5-40) while Lewis finished at .342 (15-2-38).

Lewis was the better team in the third, leading from 4-3 on.  Northwood cut the Flyer lead down to 21-19 late in the set, but Lewis earned the final four points to go up 2-1. The Timberwolves were held to a .028 hitting percentage in the set (9-8-36).

Northwood bounced back once again in the fourth set.  With the score tied at 15-15, the Timberwolves went on a 7-2 run to lead 22-18.  After Lewis scored three straight points to tie the set at 23, Northwood earned a kill and a service ace to take the set 25-23 and level the overall match 2-2. NU hit .314 (16-5-35), while Lewis finished at .394 (17-4-33). Serving was the key to Northwood earning the set, claiming a 4-1 edge in aces.

The fifth set proved to be wild, as both team posted huge runs.  Northwood got off to a huge start in the race to 15, leading 9-1. Just as it appeared the Timberwolves were on their way to an easy fifth set, Lewis responded with big run of their own.  The Flyers scored nine of the next 11 points to cut the Northwood lead to 11-10.  But after a timeout, the Timberwolves scored three straight points to set up four match points.  On their third chance to close the match out, Northwood scored the point and earned the match win.

For the match, Northwood hit .191 (62-29-173) while Lewis finished at .267 (67-21-172).  The key to win for the Timberwolves was serving – NU finished with 13 aces and five errors, while Lewis had four aces and 11 errors.

Senior outside hitter Juliia Pakhomenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) led the way for Northwood, finishing with a big individual performance.  She finished with 30 kills on 55 attempts, good for a .455 attack percentage (30-5-55). She also added a match-high five aces to go along with 17 digs and a pair of blocks.  Pakhomenko has now finished with at least 30 kills twice this season.  She is the only player in Division II to reach the 30 kill mark twice so far this season. Krysta Kramer (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) bounced back from a tough first set to finish with 11 kills and a match-high 19 digs. Jordan Dunn (Bowling Green, Ohio) finished with 52 assists, 10 digs and three aces.

Northwood will play a pair of matches Saturday (October 26).  The Timberwolves will take on Bellarmine and Rockhurst at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. (EST), respectively.