Volleyball Goes 1-1 At UINDY Invite

OVERVIEW – THOMAS MORE/ASHLAND (UINDY INVITATIONAL)

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Thomas More Saints 0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-17) / Ashland Eagles 3, Northwood 2 (25-21, 20-25, 12-25, 25-15, 15-10)

RECORDS: Northwood 3-1/Thomas More 0-5/Ashland 1-3

LOCATION: Indianapolis, Ind.

RECAP: Northwood Volleyball goes 1-1 on the opening day of the UINDY Invitational Friday (September 8), defeating Thomas More 3-0 before falling to in a tough 3-2 match to Ashland.

INSIDE THE MATCH - THOMAS MORE

• With the opening set tied at 5-5, Northwood put up five straight points to go up 10-5. The Saints responded with seven of the next nine points to tie the score at 12-12. The set was still tied at 15-15 when the Timberwolves put up five of the next six to go up 20-15. Thomas More got no closer than three the remainder of the set, which the Timberwolves took 25-19.
• Northwood scored the first three points of the second and controlled the play the rest of the way. NU held leads of 5-1, 10-2, 14-4 and 19-6. The Timberwolves eventually took the second 25-9 for a 2-0 advantage.
• The Timberwolves kept the momentum going early in the third set, putting up nine of the first 12 points. Northwood led by as many as 10 at 16-6. From that moment on, Thomas More got no closer than six the rest of the way. NU finished the sweep with a 25-17 win.

MATCH STATS - THOMAS MORE

• HITTING: Thomas More .026 (24-21-117), Northwood .263 (45-15-114)
• DIGS: Thomas More 47, Northwood 63 (Kiana Martens – 16)
• BLOCKS: Thomas More 6, Northwood 6 (Sydney Hasenfratz – Three)
• ACES: Thomas More 1, Northwood 4 (Four Players - One)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - THOMAS MORE

• Olivia Ott: 15 kills (matches career-high), 10 digs
• Hasenfratz: 11 kills, three blocks, .474 attack percentage (11-2-19)
• Renee Brines: 35 assists, eight digs, three kills

INSIDE THE MATCH - ASHLAND

• The score was tied 5-5 in the opening set when Ashland went on a run. The Eagles put up eight of the next 10 points to take a 13-7 lead. Northwood came back, eventually tying the score at 17-17. AU finished the set strong, putting up eight of the final 12 points to win 25-21 for a 1-0 match lead.
• Northwood bounced back in the second set to level the match. NU took the lead for good at 7-6 and would push the lead to as many as six two separate times. The Timberwolves eventually took the set 25-20.
• NU kept the momentum going into the third set. The Timberwolves never trailed in the third and scored four of the first five points. Ashland got no closer than two points the rest of the set. Northwood's 25-12 edge at the end of the third matched their biggest advantage of the set.
• After falling behind 2-1, the Eagles responded right away in the fourth. AU put up the opening six points and maintained control the rest of the way. Northwood got back within two at 9-7, only to see Ashland put up five of the next six points. The Eagles eventually forced a fifth set with a 25-15 win in the fourth.
• The teams exchanged early runs in the deciding fifth set. Northwood scored the first three points, forcing an early Ashland timeout. The Eagles responded, however, putting up six of the next seven points to force a Northwood timeout. With the AU lead standing at 7-6, Ashland put up five of the next seven points to go up 12-7. The Timberwolves fought back to get within two at 12-10, only to see Ashland score the final three points to close out the victory.

MATCH STATS - ASHLAND

• HITTING: Ashland .216 (55-25-139), Northwood .233 (52-22-129)
• DIGS: Ashland 45, Northwood 53 (Megan Acs – 21)
• BLOCKS: Ashland 8, Northwood 10 (Hasenfratz – Six)
• ACES: Ashland 11, Northwood 6 (Brines/Ott – Two)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - ASHLAND

• Hasenfratz: 17 kills, six blocks, .810 attack percentage (17-0-21). Her .810 attack percentage is the fifth highest in a match in Great Midwest Athletic Conference history.
• Martens: 12 kills, 10 digs, four blocks
• Caitlin Warnshuis: Nine kills
• Ott: Eight kills, eight digs
• Brines: 47 assists, two aces

NOTES

• While both Thomas More and Ashland are members in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with Northwood, both matches today were non-conference contests.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will wrap up the UINDY Invitational Saturday (September 9) with matches against Notre Dame (Ohio) at 9 a.m. and McKendree at 3 p.m.