Volleyball Picks Up 3-1 Road Win Over Northern Michigan To Open GLIAC Play

MARQUETTE, MICH. – The Northwood University volleyball team opened Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with an impressive 3-1 win at Northern Michigan Friday night (September 18). Set scores were 25-20, 16-25, 25-23, 25-14

Northwood is now 2-6 overall, 0-0 in the GLIAC. Northern Michigan stands at 8-1 overall. 0-0 in the GLIAC.

The Timberwolves took the opening set 25-20 thanks to a strong finish. Both teams made runs throughout the opening set, making the score 19-19. But it the Timberwolves came up with the big plays down the stretch, scoring six of the final seven points to take the early advantage. NU hit .296 in the set (11-3-27) while holding NMU to a .121 mark (13-9-33).

A 9-3 Wildcat run in the middle of the second set was too much for the Timberwolves to overcome. After trailing 19-11, Northwood cut the margin down to 20-15 only to see Northern Michigan earn five of the final six points to level the overall match at one set each. The teams nearly flipped their hitting percentages from the opening set, as NU finished at .083 in the second (7-5-24) while NMU ended up at .292 (11-4-24).

Northwood, which struggled last season in sets that were close late, came through big at the end of the third set. With the score tied 22-22, Northwood scored three of the final four points to claim the set, capped by a kill from freshman Brenna Murphy (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern). The defenses were the story of the third set, as Northwood hit just .111 (14-10-36) while Northern Michigan finished at .000 (7-7-27).

After making 10 errors in the third set, the Northwood offense came up with its best play of the night in the fourth set. NU hit .364 in the frame, finishing with 14 kills and two errors on 33 attempts. Northwood also held NMU to a .053 mark in the final set (7-5-38). Northwood scored eight of the first 11 points and eventually led by as many as 12 (18-6) en route to the victory.

For the match, Northwood hit .217 (46-20-120) while Northern Michigan ended up at .107 (38-25-122). The Timberwolves also finished with a 51-43 edge in digs, while the Wildcats ended up with a 13-7 advantage in blocks.

Northwood's outside hitters Krysta Kramer (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) and Allison Getty (Wayland, Mich.) led the way for Northwood. Kramer ended up with 13 kills and a pair of aces, while Getty had 11 kills and 12 digs. Murphy had her best match as a Timberwolf, ending up with nine kills and three blocks. In her first match as the primary setter, Taylor Prichett (Apex, N.C./Univ. at Buffalo) finished with a match-high 35 assists.

NU will take on Michigan Tech Saturday afternoon (September 18). First serve is set for 3 p.m.