Volleyball Splits Pair At GLIAC/GLVC Crossover

The Northwood Unviersity volleyball team split a pair of matches to conclude the 2013 GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Saturday afternoon (October 26). Northwood earned a comeback 3-2 win over Bellarmine (12-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 15-7) before falling to Rockhurst 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20).

Northwood is now 15-7 overall on the season.

NORTHWOOD 3, BELLARMINE 2

A day after a hard-fought win over the top seed from the GLVC (Lewis), Northwood came out slow against Bellarmine, dropping the first two sets.  But NU dominated the match from that point on, taking the final three sets with relative ease. NU's blocking was the key to the win, as the Timberwolves had their best day blocking of the season.  Northwood finished with 16 blocks for the match after totaling 19 blocks over their previous three matches. Juliia Pakhomenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) led the way for Northwood once again, finishing with 19 kills, 17 digs and five blocks. Krysta Kramer (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) had 12 kills, three aces, 13 digs and three blocks. NU's middles were also effective in the contest – Cassandra Marsh (Maumee, Ohio/Springfield) had nine kills and seven blocks, while Kristin Pershcon (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant). Elizabeth Barker (Williamsburg, Ind./Northeastern) finished one short of her season-high for digs, totaling 27 in the match.

ROCKHURST 3, NORTHWOOD 1

After a pair of hard-fought wins, Northwood appeared to run out of gas in their finale.  Rockhurst took the first two sets by matching scores of 25-17 to earn a 2-0 lead.  The Timberwolves took the third set to cut into the margin, but came up short in their attempt to force another fifth set. NU finished with a 53-50 advantage in kills, but committed 14 more attack errors and was out-blocked 17-4. Pakhomenko led all players with 21 kills in the match, while Kramer added 13 kills and 20 digs.

Northwood will travel to Lake Superior State Friday night (November 1). Match time is set for 7 p.m.