Volleyball Goes 1-1 At Midwest Region Crossover

OVERVIEW – UMSL/NORTHERN MICHIGAN

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Missouri-St. Louis Tritons 2 (25-19, 12-25, 25-18, 16-25, 15-9) / Northern Michigan Wildcats 3, Northwood 1 (25-15, 25-14, 23-25, 28-26)

RECORDS: Northwood 11-10 | UMSL 14-5 | Northern Michigan 16-5

LOCATION: Hammond SportPlex – Hammond, Ind.

RECAP:  Northwood Volleyball goes 1-1 on the day to open play at the Midwest Region Crossover Friday (October 14), earning a hard-fought 3-2 win over UMSL before falling to Northern Michigan 3-1

INSIDE THE MATCH – UMSL

• The start of match was evenly played, as the score was tied 9-9 after 18 points. Northwood went on a run, scoring eight of the next 11 points to go up 17-12. The Timberwolves maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the set, not allowing the Tritons to get any closer than four the rest of the way. NU eventually took a 1-0 lead with a 25-19 opening set win.
• UMSL responded to falling behind with a strong second set. The Tritons led 4-3 when they posted an 11-2 run to go up 13-5. UMSL then had a late 7-0 run to go up 21-8 on their way to a 25-12 second set win.
• The Tritons kept the momentum from the second set going early in the third, taking a 9-4 lead. But the Timberwolves came back in a big way, scoring 11 of the next 14 points to go up 15-12. After UMSL scored four straight to go back on top 16-15, Northwood put up eight straight points to go up 23-16 on their way to a 25-18 win and a 2-1 overall lead.
• Just like in the second set, UMSL bounced back from losing the third to get off to a fast start in the fourth. The Tritons scored six of the first eight points for the early lead. Northwood came back with four straight points to tie the score 6-6. NU also tied the set at 7-7 but were never able to take the lead. A 10-3 run for the Tritons made the lead 17-10, leading UMSL to an eventual 25-16 fourth-set win to force a deciding fifth set.
• The key stretch of the final set came with Northwood leading 3-2, as the Timberwolves put up seven of the next eight points to go up 10-3. UMSL did score four straight points to get within three at 10-7, but Northwood responded with five of the final seven points to close out the win 15-9.

MATCH STATS – UMSL

• HITTING: UMSL .213 (53-19-160), Northwood .199 (56-24-161)
• DIGS: UMSL 72, Northwood 79 (Sydney Hasenfratz – 19)
• BLOCKS: UMSL 8, Northwood 13 (Hasenfratz – Nine)
• ACES: UMSL 9, Northwood 8 (Sophia Oakes – Four)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - UMSL

• Hasenfratz: 15 kills, nine blocks, 19 digs
• Venera Kadriu: 15 kills, 10 digs
• Kiana Martens: 12 kills, two blocks
• Maya Ferland: 10 kills, six blocks
• Renee Brines: 45 assists, 13 digs

INSIDE THE MATCH – NORTHERN MICHIGAN

• Northwood got off to a good start against Northern Michigan, scoring eight of the first 12 points of the match. The Timberwolves led 12-11 when the Wildcats finished the set on a big run, scoring 12 of the next 13 points to go up 23-13. The NMU run eventually reached 14-3 as the Wildcats finished off the opening set 25-15.
• With the score tied 4-4 early in the second set, Northern Michigan took control. The Wildcats put up 13 of the next 14 points to take a 17-5 lead. Northwood got no closer than nine points the rest of the way, as NMU took the second set 25-14 for a 2-0 lead.
• Northern Michigan scored the first three points of the third set, which proved to match the largest lead for either team in the set.. Northwood came back to take their first lead of the set at 12-11. The lead stayed between one or two points. The Wildcats led 22-20 when Northwood made a comeback. The Timberwolves put up four straight points and five of the final six points to take the third 25-23.
• The fourth set was evenly played, with the largest lead for either team standing at three points. Northwood led 19-16 when Northern Michigan earned three straight points to tie the score. NMU eventually earned a pair of match points at 24-22, only to see Northwood score two straight to level the score at 24-24. NU eventually got a set point of their own at 26-25, but it was Northern Michigan who made the final push to earn the win, claiming the final three points to take the fourth set 28-26.

MATCH STATS – NORTHERN MICHIGAN

• HITTING: Northern Michigan .231 (54-21-143), Northwood .120 (41-26-125)
• DIGS: Northern Michigan 52, Northwood 52 (Megan Acs – 19)
• BLOCKS: Northern Michigan 7, Northwood 7 (Sweet – Six)
• ACES: Northern Michigan 9, Northwood 9 (Kadriu – Three)

TOP NU PERFORMERS – NORTHERN MICHIGAN

• Hasenfratz: 16 kills, three blocks
• Kiana Martens: 10 kills
• Brines: 37 assists, eight digs

UP NEXT

• Northwood will wrap up the crossover with a single match Saturday (October 15) against an opponent to be determined.