Volleyball Drops Pair To Open Season At Wayne State

OVERVIEW – WINONA STATE/WAYNE STATE (WARRIOR INVITATIONAL)

SCORE: Winona State Warriors 3, Northwood Timberwolves 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) / Wayne State Warriors 3, Northwood (25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22)

RECORDS: Northwood 0-2/Winona State 0-1/Wayne State 2-0

LOCATION: Matthaei Center – Detroit, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood Volleyball opens season by dropping a pair of matches at the Wayne State Warrior Invitational Friday (September 5), falling 3-0 to Winona State before losing 3-1 to host Wayne State.

INSIDE THE MATCH - WINONA STATE (NON-CONFERENCE)

• Northwood got off to a strong start in the opening set of the season, scoring the first four and five of the first six points. Winona State responded, coming back to tie the score at 5-5. The score remained close the rest of the way, with the leading getting no bigger than three for either side the remainder of the set. WSU was the better team down the stretch – after the score was tied 19-19, Winona State scored six of the final nine points to take the opener 25-22.
• The Warriors never trailed in the second set, scoring seven of the first nine points to take the early advantage. Northwood chipped away at the lead, getting within two at 11-9. That proved to be as close as the Timberwolves would get, however, as WSU put up six of the next eight points to get their lead up to 17-11. Winona State went on to take the second set 25-17 for a 2-0 overall lead.
• WSU got off to another fast start in the third, putting up seven of the first 10 points. Northwood came back with six of the next nine point to get within one at 10-9. Once again, Winona State came right back with a 7-2 run to get their lead back up to 17-11. Northwood got no closer than three the rest of the set, which was won by Winona State 25-22 to close out the sweep.

MATCH STATS - WINONA STATE

• HITTING: Winona State .228 (40-14-114), Northwood .115 (34-20-122)
• DIGS: Winona State 56, Northwood 56 (Laney Kokaly – 18)
• BLOCKS: Winona State 8, Northwood 3 (Mackenzie Scheid/Clara Gyomory – Two)
• ACES: Winona State 10, Northwood 2 (Scheid/Olivia Nester – One)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - WINONA STATE

• Sage Kissman: 12 kills, nine digs
• Gyomory: Seven kills, two blocks
• Renee Brines: 28 assists, four kills, eight digs.

INSIDE THE MATCH - WAYNE STATE

• Wayne State put up seven of the first 10 points for the early advantage. Northwood got within two points twice but were unable to get any closer. WSU closed out the opening set 25-20 for the 1-0 overall lead.
• Northwood scored the first two points of the second set, but that proved to be their only advantage of the set. The Warriors scored seven straight points to take a five-point lead. NU got no closer than three the rest of the set. Wayne State finished off the set 25-19 for a 2-0 advantage.
• After the Warriors scored four of the first five points of the third, the Timberwolves put up four straight to go up 5-4. With the score tied 8-8, NU scored four straight to take a 12-8 lead. That Northwood run eventually got to 9-2, putting NU on top 17-10. Wayne State did not go away, getting back within one at 22-21 before the Timberwolves closed out the set 25-22.
• The Timberwolves kept the momentum going from their third set win early in the fourth, taking an 11-7 lead. Wayne State fought back to level the score at 13-13. The key stretch of the set came with the score tied 18-18. That is when the Warriors scored four of the next five points to go up 22-19. NU got within one at 22-21 before WSU closed out the match 25-22.

MATCH STATS - WAYNE STATE

• HITTING: Wayne State .289 (67-24-149), Northwood .230 (49-18-135)
• DIGS: Wayne State 57, Northwood 50 (Kokaly/Brines – 12)
• BLOCKS: Wayne State 9, Northwood 5 (Soleil Allen/Scheid – Two)
• ACES: Wayne State 4, Northwood 5 (Kokaly – Two)

TOP NU PERFORMERS - WAYNE STATE

• Kissman: 18 kills, 10 digs
• Gyomory: Nine kills
• Brines: 35 assists, four kills, 12 digs.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will wrap up the Warrior Invitational with a match against Upper Iowa Saturday (September 6). First serve is set for 2:45 p.m.