Volleyball Defeats Parkside In Five Sets

OVERVIEW – PARKSIDE

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Parkside Rangers 2 (25-18, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 15-6)

RECORDS: Northwood (3-8, 3-1 GLIAC), Parkside Rangers (4-8, 2-2 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood defeats Parkside 3-2 in their home opener Friday night (September 27).  

INSIDE THE MATCH 

• The Timberwolves had all of the momentum to start the first set, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead. Both teams exchanged small runs throughout the set, with Northwood maintaining a slim lead for most of the set. The Timberwolves finished on a 6-1 run to take the opener 25-18. Northwood hit .171 in the set (14-8-35) while Parkside finished at .000 (8-8-34).
• The Rangers got rolling in the second set, taking a 5-1 advantage early. Northwood responded with a 8-2 run to regain the lead. The set was close throughout until the Timberwolves were able to close out a 25-21 win. The Timberwolves hit .333 (14-3-39) to the Rangers' .196 (16-7-46) in the second set.
• Both teams played very evenly throughout the third set, staying within a few points of each other until Parkside took an 18-14 advantage. The Rangers then scored seven of the final nine points to take the third set 25-18. Parkside out-hit Northwood during the set, with the Rangers finishing at .100 (8-5-29) while NU ended at .059 (11-9-34).
• The fourth set featured huge runs for both teams. The Rangers jumped out to a 12-2 lead and led by as many as 12. The Timberwolves rallied, going on a 12-2 run of their own to get within one at 18-17. Parkside made a final run, scoring six of the final seven points to take the set 25-19, sending the game to a fifth set. Northwood struggled offensively in the fourth, hitting -.027 (8-9-37) to Parkside's .027 (9-8-37).
• Northwood held a slim 7-5 advantage early in the fifth set when the Timberwolves made the final push to take the match. NU scored eight of the final nine points to take the fifth 15-6 and the match 3-2. The Timberwolves took advantage of Parkside errors in the fifth to take the set – NU hit .222 (5-1-18) while forcing the Rangers to a -.069 mark (4-6-29).

MATCH STATS 

• HITTING: Northwood .144 (53-30-160), Parkside .062 (45-34-176)
• DIGS: Northwood 78 (Lauren Bell – 18), Parkside 66
• BLOCKS: Northwood 11 (Mary Gallagher – seven), Parkside 10
• ACES: Northwood 7 (Loren Westlake – two), Parkside 8

TOP NU PERFORMERS 

• Mackenzie Kepler: 18 kills, 16 digs, .359 attack percentage (18-4-39)
• Karlie Wengorovius: 12 kills, three blocks
• Gallagher: Nine kills, seven blocks
• Carson Rutherford: Eight kills, 17 digs, five blocks
• Macy Lintz: 48 assists, nine digs, two blocs

UP NEXT 

• Northwood will host Purdue Northwest Saturday (September 28). Match time is set for 5 p.m.