Volleyball Drops Two Matches At Hillsdale

OVERVIEW – PALM BEACH ATLANTIC/FINDLAY (HILLSDALE TOURNAMENT)

SCORES: Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 3, Northwood Timberwolves 0 (25-23, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19)/ Findlay Oilers 3, Northwood 1 (5-18, 25-10, 23-25, 25-12)
RECORDS: Northwood (0-7), Palm Beach Atlantic (5-2), Findlay Oilers (1-7)
LOCATION: Potter Arena – Hillsdale, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood conclude the Hillsdale Tournament with a pair of losses, falling 3-1 to Palm Beach Atlantic and 3-0 To Findlay.

INSIDE THE MATCH - PALM BEACH ATLANTIC

• The opening set featured runs for both teams. After PBA led 17-12, Northwood scored four straight points to cut the lead to one at 17-16. The Sailfish eventually went up 23-18 before NU came back to make score 24-23. Palm Beach then closed out the set with the final point to win 25-23. Both teams hit a matching .098 clip in the opening set (NU – 12-8-41, PBA – 10-6-41).
• Northwood started fast in the second set, which was a key to the Timberwolves leveling the match. NU scored three of the first four and six of the first eight points of the set. PBA did eventually tie the score at 8-8, but Northwood scored the next two points and held the lead the remainder of the way. The Timberwolves hit a strong .304 in the second (11-4-23) while holding the Sailfish to a -.077 mark (9-11-26).
• After Northwood scored three of the first four points of the third set, the Sailfish were the better team. With the score tied 8-8, PBA scored 13 of the next 15 points on their way to a 2-1 lead. Palm Beach Atlantic had a big third set hitting, finishing with a .393 attack percentage (15-4-28). The Timberwolves ended at .091 (5-3-22).
• Palm Beach Atlantic once again used a big run in the middle portion of the fourth to close out the match. The Sailfish led 13-11 when PBA scored nine of the next 12 points to put the set and the match away. Both teams were solid offensively in the fourth, with the Sailfish hitting .387 (12-0-31) while the Timberwolves hit .229 (15-7-35).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .174 (43-22-121), Palm Beach Atlantic: .367 (46-21-126) 
• DIGS: Northwood 51 (Loren Westlake – 16), Palm Beach Atlantic 48
• BLOCKS: Northwood 9 (Mary Gallagher – 6), Palm Beach Atlantic 6
• ACES: Northwood 4 (Loren Westlake – 2), Palm Beach Atlantic 11

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Mary Gallagher: Eight kills, six blocks
• Karlie Wengorovius: Eight kills, two blocks
• Carson Rutherford: 11 kills, 11 digs
• Zyla Kadriu: 34 assists, seven digs, two blocks

INSIDE THE MATCH - FINDLAY

• Northwood got off to a good start against the Oilers, scoring seven of the first 10 points. Findlay responded with a big run, however, scoring nine of the next 10 points to go up 12-8. NU eventually cut the lead down to 19-18, but the Oilers earned seven of the final eight points to win 25-20. Findlay hit .186 (11-3-43) in the opening set, while Northwood finished at .045 (11-9-44).
• NU scored the opening three points of the second set, which was the biggest lead for either team until UF went up 17-13. The Oilers scored three of the final four points to take the set 25-21 to go up 2-0 overall. Findlay finished the second set at .226 (13-6-31), while Northwood hit .094 (10-7-32).
• The fourth set saw Findlay go on an early 5-0 run to lead 12-6. The Timberwolves fought back, eventually tying the score at 22-22. But the Oilers finished off the match with three straight points to close out the sweep. Both teams had their best offensive performance in the third set – Findlay hit .316 (15-3-38) and Northwood finished at .154 (11-5-39).

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Northwood: .096 (32-21-115), Findlay: .241 (39-12-112) 
• DIGS: Northwood 61 (Lauren Bell – 15), Findlay 59
• BLOCKS: Northwood 3 (Gallagher – 2), Findlay 6
• ACES: Northwood 8 (Mackenzie Kepler – 3), Findlay 3

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Carson Rutherford: 10 kills, six digs
• Kepler: Six kills, 10 digs, three aces
• Rekeweg: Nine kills, 12 digs
• Kadriu: 25 assists

UP NEXT

• Northwood will open GLIAC play with a match at Saginaw Valley Friday night (September 20). Match time is set for 7 p.m.