Volleyball Goes 1-1 In Texas

OVERVIEW – FLORIDA TECH/SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE

SCORES:  Northwood Timberwolves 3, Florida Tech Panthers 1 (25-13, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19) – Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs 3, Northwood 1 (26-24, 17-25, 25-15, 25-14)
RECORDS: Northwood (1-2), Florida Tech (1-2)/Northwood (1-3), Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs (3-1)
LOCATION: Kitty Magee Arena – Denton, Texas
RECAP: Northwood went 1-1 on the final day of Pioneer Volleyball Invitational Saturday (August 25), defeating Florida Tech 3-1 before dropping a 3-1 match to Southwestern Oklahoma State

INSIDE THE MATCH - FLORIDA TECH

• After much of the opening set was tight, the Timberwolves used a big run to close out the frame and take the early lead. The score was level at 12-12 when Northwood scored the next six points and 13 of the final 14 overall to win 25-13. NU took the set thanks to clean play – while the Timberwolves hit just .156 overall (10-5-32), they did not have a serving or blocking error to finish with five errors overall. By comparison, Florida Tech hit .025 (8-7-40) with six service errors to finish with 13 total errors.
• The second set proved to be similar to the first – evenly played until a late Northwood run. Florida Tech held a 12-11 advantage when the Timberwolves put up nine of the next 10 points to take a 20-13 lead.  NU eventually took the set 25-16 to go up 2-0. Both offenses picked up in the second set, with the Timberwolves finishing at .273 (13-4-33 (.273) while Florida Tech hit .152 (10-5-33).
• Florida Tech reversed roles with Northwood in the third, using a late push to get on the board. The set was tight throughout – an early four-point Panther lead (10-6) was the closest of the set. Northwood led 21-19 late in the set, only to see Florida Tech score six of the final eight points to win 25-22. NU finished the third at .175 (13-6-40), while FIT had their best set to that point at .312 (13-3-32).
• The Panthers kept the momentum going early in the fourth set, scoring seven of the first 10 points. Northwood responded well to the early deficit, as 11-2 stretch in the middle portion of the set gave NU an 18-13 lead. Florida Tech got no closer than three points the rest of the way as the Timberwolves closed out their first win of the season 25-19. Northwood ended up hitting .225 in the final set (13-4-40), while FIT ended up at -.020 (8-9-49)

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .207 (49-19-145), Florida Tech: .097 (39-24-154) 
• DIGS: Northwood 81 (Mackenzie Kepler – 17), Florida Tech 69
• BLOCKS: Northwood 7.0 (Mary Gallagher/Colleen Mayer – 3), Florida Tech 6.0
• ACES: Northwood 8 (Mackenzie Kepler – 3), Florida Tech 5

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Mayer: 11 kills, three blocks, .524 attack percentage (11-0-21)
• Gallagher: 11 kills, three blocks, .500 attack percentage (11-1-20)
• Kepler: Eight kills, 17 digs, three aces
• Meredith Collins/Brenna Murphy/Grace Rekeweg: 12 digs
• Macy Lintz: 38 assists, 10 digs, two blocks, two kills

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Mayer and Gallagher, Northwood's starting middle blockers, ended the day combining to hit .512, finishing with 22 kills and just one error in 41 attempts. 

INSIDE THE MATCH - SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE

• Southwestern Oklahoma State got off to a fast start in the first set, scoring the first four points of the match. The Timberwolves chipped away at the lead, eventually levelling the score at 18-18. The remainder of the set was extremely close – the biggest margin the rest of the way was two points. NU had a set point at 24-23, but the Bulldogs scored the final points of the set to win 26-24. Northwood ended the first set hitting .135 (16-9-52), while SOSU ended at .106 (11-6-47).
• The key part of the second set came with the Timberwolves trailing 14-13. Northwood put up five straight and seven of the next eight points to go up 20-15. NU the scored the final four points of the set to win 25-17. The Timberwolves were much better offensively in the second, hitting .371 (17-4-35). Southwestern Oklahoma State hit .172 (9-4-29).
• The Bulldogs set the tone in the third set thanks to a fast start. SOSU scored the first five points and eight of the first 10 points. The Timberwolves fought back to get within one at 15-14, but the Bulldogs responded with 10 of the final 11 points to win 25-15.  NU hit just .081 (12-9-37) in the third. Southwestern Oklahoma State made had just two errors in the set while hitting .214 (8-2-28).
• SOSU kept the momentum going early in the fourth, scoring eight of the first 10 points. The Bulldogs led 14-9 before scoring seven of the next points on their way to a 25-14 win. Northwood's offense struggled in the fourth, hitting -.067 (5-7-30). Southwestern Oklahoma State finished the fourth at .176 (12-6-34).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .136 (50-29-154), Southwestern Oklahoma State: .159 (40-18-138) 
• DIGS: Northwood 69 (Venera Kadriu/Brenna Murphy – 19), Southwestern Oklahoma State 65
• BLOCKS: Northwood 3.0 (Mary Gallagher – 2), Southwestern Oklahoma State 3.0
• ACES: Northwood 4 (Kadrui – 2), Southwestern Oklahoma State 11

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Collins: 15 kills, 10 digs
• Macy Lintz: 44 assists, 10 digs

UP NEXT

• Northwood will compete at the Northern Michigan Wildcat Invitational August 31-September 1.