Volleyball Loses In Five Sets To Alma

OVERVIEW – ALMA

SCORE: Alma Scots 3, Northwood Timberwolves 1 (25-22, 17-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12)

RECORDS: Alma 17-11/Northwood 4-18

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Volleyball drops five-set match to Alma College Tuesday night (October 29).

INSIDE THE MATCH – ALMA

• Alma held a slight advantage for the majority of the first set, but the score was tied late 22-22 when the Scots finished strong. Alma took the final three points of the set to win 25-22. Both offenses had big opening sets: Alma hit .389 (16-2-36) while Northwood finished at .325 (17-4-40).
• The Timberwolves took the lead for good in the second set at 6-5. A 9-2 run at that point made the score 16-8, leading Northwood to a 25-17 win to level the match 1-1. NU's offense maintained their high level in the second, hitting .361 (17-4-36). The Scots finished the second at .233 (11-4-30).
• With the Timberwolves leading 11-10 in the third, Northwood put up nine of the next 11 points to take control. NU eventually matched their second-set win with a 25-17 victory in  the third to go up 2-1. Northwood ended the third at .333 (13-4-27) while holding Alma to a .143 clip (13-8-35).
• The fourth set was dominated by both offenses. Alma led 16-13 when Northwood scored three straight to tie the score. The score was tied 23-23 when the Scots took the final two points to force a fifth set. The Scots scored 20 of their 25 points on kills and hit .432 (20-4-37). Northwood's attack percentage was not far behind, hitting .429 in the fourth (17-2-35).
• The key stretch of the fifth set came with the score tied 9-9. The Scots scored five of the next seven points to go up 14-11 before eventually taking the fifth 15-12. Alma had another solid set on offense, hitting .333 (7-0-21). Northwood ended the final set at .222 (9-3-27).

MATCH STATS 

• HITTING: Northwood .339 (73-17-165), Alma .308 (67-18-159)
• DIGS: Northwood 66 (Macy Lintz – 14), Alma 62
• BLOCKS: Northwood 6 (Carson Rutherford – four), Alma 5
• ACES: Northwood 6 (Grace Rekeweg – 2), Alma 4

TOP NU PERFORMERS 

• Mackenzie Kepler: 15 kills, 12 digs
• Rutherford: 14 kills, four blocks
• Rekeweg: 12 kills, seven digs, two aces
• Lintz: 43 assists, seven kills, 14 digs

UP NEXT

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