Volleyball Splits On Opening Day Of Wildcat Open

OVERVIEW – ST. CLOUD STATE/BEMIDJI STATE

SCORES: St. Cloud State Huskies 3, Northwood Timberwolves 0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-17)/Northwood 3, Bemidji State Beavers 1 (25-23, 25-23, 15-25, 25-15)
RECORDS: Northwood (1-4), St. Cloud State (2-1)/Northwood (2-4), Bemidji State Beavers (3-2)
LOCATION: Marquette, Mich. – Wildcat Invitational (Northern Michigan University
RECAP: Northwood went 1-1 at the Wildcat Invitational Friday (August 30), falling to St. Cloud State 3-0 before defeating Bemidji State 3-1.

INSIDE THE MATCH - ST. CLOUD STATE

• The opening set was tied 4-4 before St. Cloud State took over. The Huskies scored eight of the next nine points on their way to a 25-13 win. SCSU was hot offensively, hitting .550 (13-2-20) while Northwood ended up at -.032 (7-8-31).
• Northwood was much more competitive in the second set, as the score was level at 20-20. St. Cloud State finished the set strong, scoring four of the final five points to win 25-21. The Timberwolves finished the set hitting .118 (11-7-34), compared to the Huskies at .211 (14-6-38).
• NU trailed 15-14 before another SCSU run put the match away. The Huskies scored seven straight points to extend their advantage to 22-14 on their way to a 25-17 win. St. Cloud State ended the third set hitting .163 (18-10-49), while Northwood ended up at -.028 (5-6-36).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .020 (23-21-101), St. Cloud State: .252 (45-18-107) 
• DIGS: Northwood 35 (Grace Rekeweg – 10), St. Cloud State 54
• BLOCKS: Northwood 6.0 (Colleen Mayer – 3), St. Cloud State 4.0
• ACES: Northwood 1 (Mackenzie Kepler – 1), St. Cloud State 4

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Kepler/Carson Rutherford/Mary Gallagher: Five kills

INSIDE THE MATCH - BEMIDJI STATE

• It was Northwood who used a run late in the first set against Bemidji State to earn the early lead. The Timberwolves trailed 16-12 when NU posted seven of the next eight points to take the lead 19-17.  The Beavers eventually tied the score at 23 before Northwood earned the final two points to win 25-23.  Both teams had similar offensive numbers – NU finished the set hitting .190 (11-3-42) while BSU hit .189 (12-5-37).
• While the second set finished with the same score as the first, the set was played in a much different manner. The Beavers led big midway through the set, holding a 14-7 edge over Northwood. But the Timberwolves responded once again, scoring six straight points before eventually taking the lead at 23-22. NU scored four of the final five points to take the second 25-23. Northwood's offense was strong in the second, hitting .256 (14-4-39) while holding Bemidji State to a .147 mark (13-8-34).
• It was Bemidji State who used a big run in the third set to get one back. With the Beavers leading 15-13, BSU earned seven straight points to make it 22-13 on their way to a 25-15 win.  Bemidji took advantage of NU's errors in the set – the Beavers had just six kills (6-1-19 - .263), but Northwood ended the set with 11 hitting errors (11-11-43).
• Northwood led for the majority of the fourth, but the score was tied 23-23 late. NU then scored the final two points of the match to close out the win. Both offenses were strong in the fourth set - the Timberwolves hit .382 (16-3-34), while the Beavers finished at .34 (14-3-32).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .196 (52-21-158), Bemidji State : .230 (45-17-122) 
• DIGS: Northwood 54 (Brenna Murphy – 13), Bemidji State 66
• BLOCKS: Northwood 4.0 (Mayer – 3), Bemidji State 4.0
• ACES: Northwood 5 (Venera Kadriu – 3), Bemidji State 8

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Rekeweg: 13 kills, 10 digs
• Mayer: 10 kills, three blocks, .409 attack percentage (10-1-22)
• Macy Lintz: 39 assists

UP NEXT

• Northwood will take on Minnesota-Crookston and Minnesota Duluth Saturday (September 1) to finish play at the Wildcat Open.