Volleyball Splits On Final Day At Clarion

OVERVIEW – GANNON/LOCK HAVEN (LOCK HAVEN INVITATIONAL)

SCORE: Gannon Golden Knights 3, Northwood Timberwolves 1 (25-14, 24-26, 25-13, 25-9) / Northwood 3, Lock Haven Bald Eagles 0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-17)

RECORDS: Northwood 6-1/Gannon 6-1/Lock Haven 2-5

LOCATION: Tippin Gymnasium – Clarion, Pa.

RECAP: Northwood Volleyball splits on the final day of the Clarion Invitational Saturday (September 11) falling to Gannon 3-1 before defeating Lock Haven 3-0.  

INSIDE THE MATCH - GANNON

• The opening set was close early, as the Timberwolves trailed 8-7. That is when the Golden Knights took over, scoring seven of the next nine points to go up 15-8. Northwood go no closer than six the rest of the way in the GU 25-14 win. The offensive numbers in the set reflected the score – Gannon finished the opening frame at .286 (14-4-35) while Northwood ended at -.057 (6-8-35).
• NU played better from the start of set two, scoring the first six points. NU eventually led 17-11 when Gannon fought back. GU eventually tied the score 19-19 to set up the tight finish. The Timberwolves netted the final two points to earn the set 26-24 and level the match. Northwood was much better offensively in the second, hitting .267 (19-7-45). The Golden Knights finished at .205 (12-4-39).
• After the score was tied 7-7 in the third set, the Gannon took over. They scored 15 of the next 18 points on their way to a 25-13 win and a 2-1 match advantage. Gannon jumped up to a .323 attack percentage in the third (12-2-31). Northwood fell back to -.050 (10-12-40).
• The Golden Knights kept the momentum going into the final set. GU scored six straight points to open up a 7-2 lead. That run eventually reached 11-2 to make the score 13-4. Gannon cruised the rest of the way to a 25-9 win. The Timberwolves struggled in the final set, hitting -.135 (7-12-37). Gannon did not make an error while finishing at .333 (9-0-27).

MATCH STATS - GANNON

• HITTING: Gannon .280 (46-20-131), Northwood .019 (42-39-157)
• DIGS: Gannon 69, Northwood 71 (Lauren Bell – 21)
• BLOCKS: Gannon 8, Northwood 4 (Macy Lintz/Maya Ferland/Sydney Sweet – Two)
• ACES: Gannon 4, Northwood 3 (Lintz/Olivia Ott/Megan Acs – One)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - GANNON

• Grace Rekeweg: 11 kills, five digs
• Ott: Eight kills, 12 digs
• Kiana Martens: Nine kills
• Lintz: 35 assists, 11 digs

INSIDE THE MATCH - LOCK HAVEN

• Northwood set the tone for the match right away, scoring the first six points of the day. The Bald Eagles fought back to get within one eight separate times but were unable to ever tie the score. NU eventually won the opener 25-23 to go up 1-0. The Timberwolves hit. 283 (16-3-46) in the opening set, while Lock Haven ended at .115 (12-6-52).
• It was the Bald Eagles who got off to the fast start in the second set, scoring five of the first six points for the early advantage. Northwood responded with seven of the next 10 points to level the score at 8-8. NU was the better team late – with the score tied 20-20, the Timberwolves scored five of the final seven points to take the set 25-22. Both teams struggled hitting in the second set – Northwood finished at .068 (7-4-44) with Lock Haven at .022 (10-9-46).
• The final set was level at 14-14 when the Timberwolves made the final push of the game. NU scored seven of the next eight points to go up 21-15 on their way to capping off the sweep 25-17. Northwood hit .200 (9-5-20) but it was their defense that won the set, holding Lock Haven to a -.111 clip (8-11-27). NU had seven blocks in the final set alone.

MATCH STATS - LOCK HAVEN

• HITTING: Lock Haven .032 (30-26-125), Northwood .142 (32-12-110)
• DIGS: Lock Haven 58, Northwood 63 (Lintz – 17)
• BLOCKS: Lock Haven 3, Northwood 1 (Ferland – Six)
• ACES: Lock Haven 8, Northwood 6 (Venera Kadriu – Five)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - LOCK HAVEN

• Ferland: Seven kills, six blocks
• Rekeweg/Ott/Martens: Six kills each
• Lintz: 25 assists, 17 digs

UP NEXT

• Northwood will open Great Lakes Intercollegeiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with a match at Saginaw Valley Friday (September 17). Match time is set for 7 p.m.