Volleyball Earns 3-2 Road Win At Ohio Dominican

OVERVIEW – OHIO DOMINICAN

SCORE: Northwood 3, Ohio Dominican Panthers 2 (25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-12)

RECORDS: Northwood 8-1, 2-0 G-MAC/Ohio Dominican 3-5, 0-2 G-MAC

LOCATION: Callan Athletic Center – Columbus, Ohio

RECAP: Northwood Volleyball improves to 8-1 with a hard-fought 3-2 road win at Ohio Dominican Saturday (September 21).

INSIDE THE MATCH

• Northwood started the match fast, putting up seven of the first nine points. The Timberwolves led by as many as seven before the Panthers chipped away at the lead. A 6-1 run by ODU cut the lead down to 20-18. The Timberwolves finished the set strong, taking the opener 25-20 for a 1-0 advantage.
• The second set was tight throughout, with the biggest lead for either team being three points. Northwood held the advantage for the majority of the set and were up 15-12. NU eventually led 21-20 when the Panthers finished with a big run, scoring four straight and five of the final six points. ODU's 25-22 second set win leveled the match at 1-1.
• Ohio Dominican kept the momentum going into the third set, scoring the first six points to force a Northwood timeout. The Timberwolves chipped away at the lead, eventually getting within two at 15-13. ODU responded with four of the next five points to get their advantage back up to five at 19-14. NU got no closer than four the rest of the set, which was won by the Panthers 25-20 to give ODU a 2-1 lead for the match.
• Set four featured big runs for both teams. With the score tied 3-3, Northwood scored 11 of the next 15 points to take a 14-7 lead.  Once again ODU responded, putting up 10 of the next 14 points to tie the score at 18-18. Northwood came right back with four straight points to take the lead back at 22-18, only to see the Panthers score four straight of their own to tie the score once again at 22-22. Fittingly, Northwood then scored the final three points of the set to take the fourth 25-22 and force a decisive fifth set.
• The first run of the fifth set came with the score tied 3-3 – the Timberwolves put up the next three points to take a 6-3 lead. Ohio Dominican came back to take a 10-9 lead. Northwood then scored three straight to take a 12-10 lead and force a Panther timeout. The Timberwolves stayed in the lead the rest of the way, taking the fifth 15-12 to earn the 3-2 win.

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Ohio Dominican .105 (60-40-190), Northwood .173 (53-18-173)
• DIGS: Ohio Dominican 82, Northwood 78 (Sophia Oakes – 22)
• BLOCKS: Ohio Dominican 14, Northwood 14 (Sydney Hasenfratz – Seven)
• ACES: Ohio Dominican 6, Northwood 1 (Macy Kellstrom)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Hasenfratz: 19 kills, seven blocks, .400 attack percentage (19-5-35)
• Sage Kissman: 11 kills, 11 digs
• Martens: Nine kills, 12 digs, six blocks
• Ott: 11 kills, 17 digs, three blocks
• Oakes 22 digs, five assists
• Renee Brines: 37 assists, 11 digs, four blocks

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood and Ohio Dominican have played twice this season – both matches went the full five sets.
• The Timberwolves have already played four five-set matches in nine contests this season. Northwood is 3-1 in those matches.
• NU's 8-1 record after nine matches is the best for the Timberwolves since the 2008 season, when Northwood started the year 12-0.

UP NEXT

• Northwood hosts their home opener Tuesday (September 24) against Alma. First serve is set for 7 p.m.