Volleyball Drops 3-1 Match At Davenport To Open GLIAC Play

OVERVIEW – DAVENPORT

SCORES: Davenport Panthers 3, Northwood Timberwolves 1 (25-27, 25-12, 25-20, 25-22)
RECORDS: Northwood (6-3, 0-1 GLIAC), Davenport (5-4, 1-0 GLIAC)
LOCATION: DU Student Center – Grand Rapids, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood opened Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 3-1 loss at Davenport Friday night (September 15).

INSIDE THE MATCH

• After Northwood scored five of the first six points of the match, the remainder of the opening set was tight. From 5-5 on, neither team led by more than three points. Davenport had a set point at 25-24, but Northwood responded by scoring the final three points to take the opener 27-25. Both teams were sloppy offensively, each finishing with 10 errors. Northwood hit .104 (15-10-48) while Davenport finished at .055 (13-10-55).
• Davenport changed things in a big way in the second set, controlling play from the start. The Panthers scored seven of the first 10 points and did not allow Northwood any closer than three points the rest of the way. The hitting stats showed DU's level of play in the set – DU hit .268 (15-4-41) while Northwood finished at -.029 (4-5-35).
• The third set was back and forth until a late push gave Davenport the lead in the match. DU led 20-19 late in the set when the Panthers registered five of the final six points to close out the set. Hitting numbers in the third were similar for both teams – Davenport hit .178 (14-6-45) compared to Northwood at .188 (14-5-48).
• The Panthers maintained the momentum early in the fourth set, scoring nine of the first 13 points. The Timberwolves trailed by as many as eight points (18-10) before fighting back. NU got the lead down to one on two occasions (20-19, 21-20), but the Panthers closed out the match at 25-22. Both teams hit well in the fourth set – NU finished at .212 (17-6-52), Davenport .244 (16-5-45).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .131 (50-26-183), Davenport: .177 (58-25-186) 
• DIGS: Northwood 86 (Sommer VandenBerge – 18), Davenport 92
• BLOCKS: Northwood 9.0 (Sydney Greulich – 3), Davenport 14.0
• ACES: Northwood 1 (Mackenzie Kepler), Davenport 5

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Greulich: 20 kills (career-high), six blocks, 24.5 points (career-high)
• Rutherford: 11 kills
• Hailey Jones: 45 assists, 12 digs, two blocks

UP NEXT

• Northwood will travel to Purdue Northwest Saturday (September 16). First serve set for 3 p.m. Eastern Time.