Volleyball Battles But Drops Tough 3-2 Match At GMAC North Leading Findlay

OVERVIEW – FINDLAY

SCORE: Findlay Oilers 3, Northwood Timberwolves 2 (27-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 15-9)

RECORDS: Northwood 10-9, 5-4 GMAC | Findlay 13-8, 10-1 GMAC

LOCATION: Croy Center – Findlay, Ohio

RECAP:  Northwood Volleyball battles but falls to Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) North Division leader Findlay 3-2 Saturday afternoon (October 8).

INSIDE THE MATCH

• The opening set was tightly-contested – the largest lead for either team was three points. Findlay was up 14-11 when the Timberwolves four straight points to go up 15-14. Trailing 18-16 late, Northwood put up eight of the next 12 points to earn a set point at 24-22. NU eventually had three set points (24-22, 24-23, 25-24) but were not able to put the Oilers away. UF scored five of the final six points of the set to earn the comeback 27-25 win in the opener for a 1-0 lead.  
• Northwood bounced back from the disappointment of the opening set with a strong performance in the second. The Timberwolves scored the first three points of the set and never trailed the rest of the way. Findlay did come back to tie the score 10-10 before Northwood responded with 12 of the next 15 points to go up 22-13. NU eventually leveled the match at one set each with a 25-19 win.
• Findlay was the better team early in the third, scoring 10 of the first 14 points. Northwood chipped away at the lead, eventually getting within one at 19-18. NU also cut the lead to one at 20-19, 21-20 and 24-23 but were never able to tie the score late. The Oilers eventually took the set 25-23 for a 2-1 lead.
• The Timberwolves once again responded in the fourth, leading from the start after scoring the first four points. Northwood led 9-8 when NU posed a 10-1 run to push their advantage to 19-9. The Timberwolves eventually won the set 25-15 to force a decisive fifth set.
• Findlay bounced back in the final set, thanks to getting off to a good start. After Northwood scored the opening point of the fifth, the Oilers put up four straight and eight of the next 10 to take an 8-3 lead. The Timberwolves came back to get within three at 11-8, only to see UF score four of the final five points to take the final set 15-9 and win the match 3-2.

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Findlay .214 (60-24-168), Northwood .211 (62-26-171)
• DIGS: Findlay 67, Northwood 70 (Megan Acs – 23)
• BLOCKS: Findlay 11, Northwood 11 (Sydney Hasenfratz – Nine)
• ACES: Findlay 3, Northwood 7 (Hasenfratz – Four)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Hasenfratz: 17 kills, four aces, nine blocks, 27.0 points
• Kiana Martens: 14 kills, two blocks
• Venera Kadriu: 14 kills, 12 digs, two aces
• Maya Ferland: Eight kills, two blocks, .438 attack percentage (8-1-16)
• Sydney Sweet: Seven kills, four blocks
• Renee Brines: 50 assists, 12 digs

UP NEXT

• Northwood travels to the Midwest Crossover Friday-Saturday (October 13-14).