Volleyball Falls In Five Sets To No. 24 Michigan Tech

OVERVIEW – #24 MICHIGAN TECH

SCORE: Michigan Tech Huskies 3, Northwood Timberwolves 2 (23-25, 14-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-12)

RECORDS: Michigan Tech (22-5, 14-2 GLIAC), Northwood (10-18, 4-12 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood takes opening two sets but falls in five to No. 24 Michigan Tech Saturday afternoon (November 3).

INSIDE THE MATCH

• Both teams split the first 20 points in a back-and-forth first set. Michigan Tech lead 16-14 at the halfway point and for the majority of the stanza, but could not pull away from Northwood. The Timberwolves regained the lead with authority thanks to four consecutive points and built up their first multi-point spread at 22-19. The Huskies countered with three consecutive points of their own to bring the game even, but NU recaptured the momentum with three of the next four points to win the set 25-23. Northwood posted an attack line of .209 (16-7-43), while Michigan Tech finished at a similar clip of .200 (13-5-40).
• The Timberwolves kept it up at the start of the second. Keyed by seven consecutive points, they came out of the gates with an 8-3 lead and set the tone immediately. The team stayed remarkably hot and rattled off a 14-6 run to lead 22-9 later in the set. NU was never challenged and cruised to a 25-14 win and a 2-0 lead. The Timberwolves held firm with a line of .167 (12-6-36). The Huskies fell back at -.093 (7-11-43).
• MTU didn't go quietly and scored seven consecutive points to open the third set with authority.  Northwood showed some resolve and rekindled their mojo with an 11-6 run to cut the lead down to two at 13-11 near the middle of the set. Michigan Tech halted the momentum with five consecutive points to build the lead back up to seven, but NU again chipped away with a 5-1 run to bring the score 19-16. However, the Huskies eventually prevailed, scoring six of the next nine to win the set 25-19 to extend the match. Northwood regressed to a .000 percentage (8-8-46), compared to MTU at .080 (13-9-50).
• Both teams traded the first 16 points to open the fourth as the momentum swung back and forth. The Timberwolves eventually opened up a 15-11 lead with a 7-3 run, maintaining that edge to go up 19-15 later in the set. Michigan Tech responded with a 6-2 run to bring the game even at 21, setting up a thrilling finish. Down 24-23, NU forced a win-by-two scenario, but dropped two consecutive points as MTU forced a winner-take-all fifth set 26-24. NU hit .194 in the fourth (14-7-36). The Huskies posted a much-improved line of .333 (18-4-42).
• Needing just 15 points to capture the final set, both teams naturally split the first 14 to a 7-7 tie. Michigan Tech soon created a spread at 12-9, splitting the next six points to take the set 15-12. Northwood posted their best percentage of the day at .333 (8-1-21). Michigan Tech also finished strong with their best line of the day posting a .385 percentage (12-2-26).                                                                                                                                                                                       

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Michigan Tech .159 (63-31-201), Northwood .159 (58-29-182)
• DIGS: Michigan Tech 87, Northwood 88 (Brenna Murphy – 27)
• BLOCKS: Michigan Tech 10, Northwood 11 (Colleen Mayer – six)
• ACES: Michigan Tech 4, Northwood 6 (Nadia Atton – thre)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Grace Rekeweg: 19 kills, 16 digs
• Colleen Mayer: 10 kills, seven blocks, .308 attack percentage (10-2-26)
• Erica Chappell: Eight kills, five blocks
• Macy Lintz: 43 assists, 16 digs, five kills

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Senior Brenna Murphy earned her 1000^th career dig in the first set, becoming the 12^th player in program history to achieve the feat. She finished her career 1,021 digs

UP NEXT

• Northwood concluded their season tonight.