Volleyball Drops Tough 3-2 Match To Hillsdale

OVERVIEW – HILLSDALE

SCORE: Hillsdale Chargers 3, Northwood Timberwolves 2 (25-17, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 16-14)

RECORDS: Northwood 3-6, 0-3 G-MAC | Hillsdale 3-6, 1-2 G-MAC

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood Volleyball drops tough 3-2 match to Hillsdale Friday night (September 26).

INSIDE THE MATCH

• With Hillsdale leading 13-12 in the opening set, the Chargers went on a run to take control. HC put up eight of the next nine points to go up 21-13. Hillsdale went on to take the opening set 25-17 for a 1-0 lead.
• Hillsdale got off to a strong start in the second, leading 9-4. The Timberwolves responded with their first big run of the night, outscoring the Chargers 8-3 over the next 11 points to take a 12-11 lead. NU took the lead for good at 14-13, leading by as many as seven before taking the second 25-19 to level the match 1-1.
• Hillsdale bounced back early in the third, scoring seven of the first nine points. Trailing 15-9, Northwood scored four straight to force a Charger timeout at 15-13. With the HC lead standing at 17-15, Hillsdale scored five of straight points to go up 22-15. Northwood did not go away, getting back within two at 24-22 before the Chargers took the set 25-22 for a 2-1 match lead.
• The fourth set was tight early on – the first three-point lead for either side came with Northwood on top 12-9. NU was on top 18-14 when Hillsdale responded, fighting back to tie the score 21-21.  NU was the better team down the stretch, forcing a decisive fifth set with a 25-23 win.
• With the final set tied 6-6, Northwood scored four straight points to go up 10-6. NU held a 12-9 lead when the Chargers started chipping away at the lead, eventually tying the score at 13-13. NU led 14-13 and thought for a moment they had won the match when a Charger attack went long, but a touch on the play was ruled by the officials that tied the score 14-14. That started a push by the Chargers that resulted in the final three points going to Hillsdale to give them a 16-14 fifth-set win.

MATCH STATS

• HITTING: Hillsdale .210 (59-24-167), Northwood .187 (56-25-166)
• DIGS: Hillsdale 71, Northwood 71 (Laney Kokaly – 27)
• BLOCKS: Hillsdale 10, Northwood 9 (Clara Gyomory/Soleil Allen – Four)
• ACES: Hillsdale 12, Northwood 6 (Sage Kissman/Mackenzie Scheid – Two)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Kissman: 18 Kills, 12 digs
• Scheid: 13 kills, four blocks
• Olivia Nester: Seven kills, 10 digs, two blocks
• Renee Brines: 43 assists, seven kills, ace, 10 digs, .500 attack percentage (7-0-14).

UP NEXT

• Northwood travels to Thomas More Friday (October 3). First serve is set for 7 p.m.