Volleyball Goes 1-1 At Malone To Finish Hall of Fame City Challenge

OVERVIEW – CHARLESTON/MALONE

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Charleston Golden Eagles 1 (25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 25-22)/Malone 3, Northwood 1 (25-22, 25-23, 8-25, 25-22))
RECORDS: Northwood (3-0), Charleston (1-2)/Northwood (3-1), Malone Pioneers (4-0)
LOCATION: Osbourne Hall – Canton, Ohio (Malone University)
RECAP: Northwood finished play at the Hall of Fame City Challenge Saturday (September 2).

INSIDE THE MATCH - CHARLESTON

• Charleston got off to a fast start in the opening set, scoring the first four points and seven of the first 10 overall. NU eventually trailed 14-11 before the Timberwolves got going. Northwood claimed 12 of the next 16 points en route to a 25-22 win. NU hit .326 in the set (16-2-43) while Charleston finished at .152 (14-7-46).
• Northwood fell behind early in the second set once again, but this time Charleston kept the lead the rest of the way. NU fought back to tie the score at 15-15 before the Golden Eagles finished strong to win 25-21 and level the match. Charleston hit .258 (13-5-31) in the set compared to Northwood at .138 (10-6-29).
• The Timberwolves responded to the loss in the second set with a strong early performance in the third. Northwood eventually led 17-9 late in the frame before the Golden Eagles came storming back. The score was eventually tied 24-24 beofre Northwood closed the set out 26-24 to go up 2-1. NU hit .220 in the set (17-6-50) compared to Charleston at .159 (13-6-44).
• The final set was tight nearly the whole way. With the score tied 15-15, the Timberwolves went on the key run of the set. Northwood scored seven of the next nine points to make the score 22-17 before eventually winning 25-22. NU hit .200 (13-6-35) in the set while UC finished at .205 (15-6-44).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .229 (56-20-157), Charleston: .188 (55-24-165) 
• DIGS: Northwood 71 (Meredith Collins – 20), Charleston 66
• BLOCKS: Northwood 7.0 (Colleen Mayer – 5), Charleston 3.0
• ACES: Northwood 2 (Collins/Sydney Greulich – 1), Charleston 8

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Carson Rutherford: 14 kills, seven digs, three blocks, 15.5 points
• Greulich: 12 kills, one ace, two blocks .440 attack percentage, 14.5 points
• Mayer: Eight kills, five blocks, .421 attack percentage, 11.5 points
• Collins: Eight kills, 20 digs
• Hailey Jones: 48 assists, 10 digs

INSIDE THE MATCH - MALONE

• Malone came out fast to open the match, scoring 15 of the first 21 points. Northwood eventually got back within one point one on seven different occasions but were unable to tie the score. The Pioneers took the set 25-22, hitting .244 in the win (16-5-45). Northwood ended the set at .200 (14-5-45).
• The second set saw big runs for both teams, starting with Malone. They opened things up with 11 of the first 12 points to take a big early edge. NU fought all the way back to eventually tie the score at 23-23, but MU scored the final two points to earn the set 25-23. NU hit .149 in the set (12-5-45) while the Pioneers finished at .070 (12-9-43).
• NU took control of the third early and dominated the rest of the set. Northwood scored 11 of the first 13 points and would cruised to a 25-8 win to make the score 2-1 overall. Northwood had its best offensive set of the day, hitting .375 (15-3-32) while holding Malone to a -.034 clip (5-6-29).
• The fourth set was close throughout. Northwood held the advantage at 20-18 late in the frame before Malone finished strong to close things out. The Pioneers scored seven of the last nine points, including four of the final five to win 25-22. Malone hit .231 (15-3-52) compared to Northwood at .196 (17-7-51).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .217 (58-20-175), Malone: .148 (48-23-169) 
• DIGS: Northwood 83 (Allison Getty/Jones 15), Malone 83
• BLOCKS: Northwood 8.0 (Greulich – 6), Malone 3.0
• ACES: Northwood 3 (Three Players – 1), Malone 7

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Greulich: 13 kills, six blocks, 16.5 points
• Getty: 13 points, 15 digs, 13.0 points
• Rutherford: 10 kills, 14 digs, 12.0 points
• Hailey Jones: 48 assists, 15 digs

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• At the conclusion of the event, a pair of Northwood players were named to the All-Tournament team: Jones and Rutherford. Jones led the event in assists.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will compete at the Southern Indiana Invitational next Friday & Saturday (Sept. 8-9). They will begin play against Purdue Northwest in a non-GLIAC match Friday at 10 a.m.