Volleyball Goes 2-0 On Final Day Of USI Dunn Hospitality Invitational

OVERVIEW – CEDARVILLE/SOUTHERN INDIANA

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Cedarville Yellow Jackets 2 (25-14, 16-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-14)/Northwood 3, Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 1 (25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23)
RECORDS: Northwood (5-2), Cedarville (1-6)/Northwood (6-2), Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (2-5)
LOCATION: Physical Activities Center – Evansville, Ind. (Southern Indiana University)
RECAP: Northwood went 2-0 on the final day of the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, defeating Cedarville 3-2 before downing host Southern Indiana 3-1 Saturday (September 9).

INSIDE THE MATCH - CEDARVILLE

• Northwood scored five of the first seven points in the opening set and did not trail the rest of the way en route to a 25-14 win. NU's offense came out fast in the set, hitting .462 (13-1-26) while holding Cedarville to a .000 clip (9-9-32).
• Cedarville flipped things in the second set, controlling play from the start. The Yellow Jackets claimed the first three points and eight of the first 10 overall before finishing off a 25-16 win to level the match 1-1. Cedarville's offense got going in the second, hitting .393 (14-3-28). Northwood ended up at .219 (11-4-32). The Yellow Jackets also held a 4-0 edge in aces in the set.
• After two lopsided sets to open the match, the third proved to be close throughout. Cedarville led by four points early (9-5), which was the biggest advantage in the set. From the point where the score was tied 11-11, the biggest lead for either team was two points. Northwood led 23-22 before Cedarville scored the final three points to win 25-23 and take a 2-1 lead. The Yellow Jackets hit .205 in the third (15-7-39), compared to the Timberwolves at .189 (12-5-37).
• Northwood responded to dropping two straight sets to win the fourth. NU scored six of the first nine points to take the early lead. The Timberwolves maintained the lead the rest of the set, not allowing the Yellow Jackets to get any closer than two points. The lead grew to as many as seven points before Northwood finished off a 25-20 win. The set proved to be an ugly one for the offenses – the two teams combined for 21 attack errors and 16 kills. NU hit -.024 (12-13-41) while CU finished at -.108 (4-8-37).
• For the first time this season, the Timberwolves took part in a five-set match. Northwood held leads of 7-4 and 9-6, but a 4-0 run by Cedarville put the Yellow Jackets up 10-9. The teams went back and forth until Cedarville had the first match point at 14-13, only to see NU score the final three points of the match to win 16-14.  

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .183 (61-29-175), Cedarville: .117 (50-30-171) 
• DIGS: Northwood 81 (Allison Getty – 20), Cedarville 73
• BLOCKS: Northwood 6.0 (Three players – 3), Cedarville 16.0
• ACES: Northwood 3 (Three players – 1), Cedarville 11

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• MacKenzie Kepler: 21 kills (career-high), seven digs, three blocks, .410 attack percentage, 23.5 points
• Sydney Greulich: 13 kills, three blocks, 15.5 points
• Rutherford: 11 kills, 11.5 points
• Hailey Jones: 46 assists, 16 digs

INSIDE THE MATCH - SOUTHERN INDIANA

• Southern Indiana held the early advantage in the opening set, as Northwood did not lead until the score was 14-13. The Timberwolves trailed 17-16 before Northwood registered nine of the final 11 points to win 25-19. The two teams had a large number of attempts in the set, combining for 103 swings (52 – NU, USI – 51) and 57 digs (NU – 33, USI – 24). Northwood hit .231 in the set (18-6-52), compared to USI at .137 (12-5-51).
• The Screaming Eagles started the second set fast, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. NU bounced back quickly, scoring four straight to level the score at 5-5. The score was tied 8-8 when Northwood put on a run. The Timberwolves scored 10 of the next 13 points to extend their advantage to 18-11. USI got no closer than four points the rest of the way
• Southern Indiana didn't go quietly, getting off to another strong start in the third by scoring 11 of the first 15 points. Northwood responded with a big run of their own, registering 12 of the next 15 points to put the Timberwolves up 16-14. NU eventually led 21-20 before the Screaming Eagles bounced back. USI scored five of the final six points to win 25-22 to send the match to a fourth set. Northwood hit .145 in the third (15-7-55) while Southern Indiana finished at .234 (16-5-47).
• For the fourth straight set, USI held the early advantage in the fourth, scoring four of the first five points. NU chipped away at the lead the rest of the set, tying the score at 16-16. The score ended up at 23-23 before Northwood registered the final two points to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-1. The Timberwolves hit .311 in the set (19-5-45). USI finished at .283 (17-4-46).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .249 (67-22-181), Southern Indiana: .208 (56-20-173) 
• DIGS: Northwood 89 (Getty – 26), Southern Indiana 80
• BLOCKS: Northwood 6.0 (Greulich – 4), Southern Indiana 10.0
• ACES: Northwood 3 (Brenna Murphy – 2), Southern Indiana 1

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Getty: 20 kills, 26 digs, 20 points
• Greulich: 13 kills, four blocks, 15.5 points
• Carson Rutherford: 12 kills, two blocks, 13.0 points
• Jones: 59 assists, 15 digs

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood placed three student-athletes to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the event: Getty, Jones, Kepler

UP NEXT

• Northwood will open Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at Davenport Friday night (September 15). Match time is set for 7 p.m.