Volleyball Downs Michigan Tech In Five Sets

MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University volleyball team picked up a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Michigan Tech Friday night (November 13). Set scores were 25-23, 17-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10.

Northwood stays alive in the hunt for a chance at the GLIAC Tournament, improving to 12-16 overall, 8-9 in the GLIAC. Michigan Tech falls to 18-11 overall, 9-8 in the GLIAC.

The opening set of the match was close throughout. Michigan Tech held a 15-12 lead, but the Timberwolves fought back seven of the next 10 points to put the Timberwolves up 19-18. The Huskies eventually led 23-22 only to see the Timberwolves score the final three points of the set to earn the set 25-24. Northwood hit .278 in the set (14-4-36) while holding Michigan Tech to a .079 clip (11-8-38).

MTU was the better team in each of the next two sets, taking the second set 25-17 and the third 25-16. The Huskies hit .278 in the second (15-5-36) and .259 (18-3-59) in the third. Meanwhile, Northwood was held to a .000 clip in the second (9-9-41) and a .069 (9-5-58) mark in the third.

Northwood began its comeback with a strong finish to the fourth set. Early on, the set was tight, as the score was level at 10-10. The Timberwolves had a 19-17 lead when NU took over, scoring six of the final seven points to tie the match at two sets apiece. The Timberwolves' offense came to life in the set, finishing with a .343 attack percentage (14-2-35) while Michigan Tech finished at .053 (11-9-38).

The Timberwolves took control of the final set with the score tied at 4-4. NU scored seven of the next 11 points to lead 11-7. The Huskies got no closer than three points the rest of the way. Northwood hit .323 in the set, thanks in large part to the efforts of outside hitters Allison Getty (Wayland, Mich.) and Krysta Kramer (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge). Getty had five kills and no errors on nine attempts, while Kramer had four kills and zero errors on seven attempts.

For the match, Northwood hit. 179 (58-22-201) while Michigan Tech ended up at .169 (62-28-201). Both teams ended the match with eight blocks, while Michigan Tech held a 104-96 edge in digs.

Getty and Kramer led the way for Northwood, combining for 37 of the Timberwolves' 58 kills in the match. Getty had 21 kills on 53 attempts (.340) to go with three blocks and 16 digs. Kramer finished with 16 kills and 14 digs. Sydney Greulich (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's) totaled seven kills and four blocks.

Northwood will finish the regular season with a match against Northern Michigan Saturday afternoon (November 14). First serve is set for 5 p.m.