Volleyball Opens Season With 3-0 Sweep At Saginaw Valley

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22)

RECORDS: Saginaw Valley (0-1, 0-1 GLIAC), Northwood (1-0, 1-0 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Ryder Center – University Center, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood Volleyball opened its spring 2021 season with a 3-0 sweep at Saginaw Valley Friday night (February 19).

INSIDE THE MATCH 

• The Timberwolves set the tone for the night right away, scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the match. NU eventually led 24-9 before winning the set 25-12. Northwood's offense came out fast, hitting .405 (19-4-37). SVSU ended the set at .057 (6-4-35).
• NU led 12-8 early in the second set, but the Cardinals fought back to make the score 14-13. Northwood responded with five of the next six points to go up 19-14 in route to a 25-17 win. The Timberwolves finished the second set hitting .122 (12-7-41), compared to SVSU at .000 (6-6-39).
• With the score tied 8-8 in the third set, the Timberwolves went on scored six of the next seven points to lead 14-9. SVSU fought back to level the score 19-19, but the Timberwolves scored five straight points to clinch the win. NU hit .190 in the third (14-6-42), compared to SVSU at .027 (9-8-37).

MATCH STATS 

• HITTING: Northwood .233 (45-17-120), Saginaw Valley .027 (21-18-111)
• DIGS: Northwood 58 (Venera Kadriu – 13), Saginaw Valley 47
• BLOCKS: Northwood 2 (Three Players – One), Saginaw Valley 3
• ACES: Northwood 4 (Macy Lintz – Two), Saginaw Valley 4

TOP NU PERFORMERS 

• Mackenzie Kepler: 12 kills, nine digs
• Grace Rekeweg: 10 kills, 12 digs
• Venera Kadrui: 10 kills, 13 digs
• Macy Lintz: 40 assists, seven digs

UP NEXT 

• Northwood and SVSU will finish their weekend series Saturday (February 20). First serve is set for 1 p.m.