Volleyball Opens Season With Pair of 3-0 Wins

The Northwood volleyball team opened its season with a pair of 3-0 victories at the Ferris State Invitational Friday afternoon (August 31). The Timberwolves beat West Virginia State (25-11, 25-23, 25-17) before downing Glenville State (25-16, 25-11, 25-12).

In the West Virginia State match, Northwood hit .356 (39-13-73) while holding WVSU to a .132 clip (20-11-68). Serving was also a key part of the match as well, as Northwood finished with a 15-5 advantage in aces. Freshman Juliia Pakhomenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) was the star in her first career match. She had 11 kills, nine aces and seven digs to lead the team in all three categories. Tatjana Rajic (Belgrade, Serbia) had nine kills, while Jordan Dunn (Bowling Green, Ohio) finished with 33 assists.

The Timberwolves controlled the play from the start against Glenville State, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the opening set. NU never trailed in the entire match and was only tied with Glenville once in three sets. Northwood hit .410 in the match (43-11-78) while holding GSU to a -.048 clip (14-17-63). Junior Angie Sparling (Ft. Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern) led a balanced attack with eight kills, while freshman Krysta Kramer (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) added seven kills

Northwood will wrap up their weekend at FSU with a pair of matches Saturday (September 1). The Timberwolves will face Alderson Broaddus at Noon before taking on Mercyhurst at 4 p.m.