Volleyball Drops 3-2 Match At Northern Michigan

OVERVIEW – NORTHERN MICHIGAN

SCORE: Northern Michigan Wildcats 3, Northwood Timberwolves 2 (25-15, 19-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12)

RECORDS: Northwood (5-7, 2-3 GLIAC), Northern Michigan (10-2, 2-3 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Vandament Arena – Marquette, Mich.

RECAP:  Northern Michigan outlasts Northwood 3-2 Saturday afternoon (September 15).

INSIDE THE MATCH

• The opening set saw huge swings for both teams. Northwood jumped out fast, scoring seven of the first eight points to start the match. NMU fought back to eventually even the set 13-13. With the score 15-15, the Wildcats got red-hot, scoring the final 10 points of the frame to win 25-15. NMU ended up hitting .200 in the set (11-5-30), while NU finished with a -.083 mark (8-11-36).
• After a tough finish to the first set, Northwood came right back early in the second. The Timberwolves scored the first three points and eventually led 7-2 and 9-3. NU maintained the advantage the remained of the set, not allowing NMU to get any closer than three in a 25-19 Northwood win. The Timberwolves had their best offensive set in the match, hitting .333 (14-3-33). Northern Michigan ended up with a .128 mark (12-7-39).
• It was Northern Michigan who got off to the fast start in the fourth, scoring the first five points. The lead remained at least five for the rest of the set as the Wildcats won 25-16 to go up 2-1. While the Timberwolves hit a solid .200 for the set (8-3-25), NMU finished at a remarkable .531 (20-3-32).
• The fourth set finally featured the teams coming out evenly, as the biggest lead in the opening 20 minutes was two points. Northern Michigan pushed out to a 15-10 lead and was closing in on winning the match when NU began to comeback. The Timberwolves eventually took the lead back at 18-17, only to see NMU go back on top 21-18. NU made the final push of the set, scoring seven of the final nine points to win 25-23 and force a fifth set. The defenses were the story of the fourth set – NU hit .089 (11-7-45) while NMU ended at .048 (12-10-42).
• Northwood got off to a good start in the fifth set, scoring the first two points and three of the first four overall. Northern Michigan came back to tie the score 7-7.  With the score 8-8, the Wildcats put up four of the next five points to go up 12-9.  NU got within two points three separate times after that, but NMU closed out the match 15-12. NMU had seven kills in the fifth to four for Northwood.

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northern Michigan .196 (62-29-168), Northwood .105 (45-28-162)
• DIGS: Northern Michigan 80, Northwood 68 (Brenna Murphy – 21)
• BLOCKS: Northern Michigan 8, Northwood 8 (Colleen Mayer/Carson Rutherford – six)
• ACES: Northern Michigan 8, Northwood 3 (Three players – one)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• MacKenzie Kepler : 13 kills, 13 digs, ace
• Mayer: Eight kills, six blocks
• Rutherford: Seven kills, six blocks
• Macy Lintz: 37 assists

UP NEXT

•    Northwood will host Saginaw Valley Friday night (March 21). Match time is set for 7 p.m.