HAMMOND, Ind. - The Northern Michigan volleyball team competed in Hammond, Indiana against the Purdue Northwest Pride on Friday night, falling in four sets 18-25, 25-21, 21-25, and 19-25. 

The loss drops NMU to 2-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The win for the Pride is their first in program history over the Wildcats. They have now won seven straight matches overall. The Pride sit at 8-3 on the season with a perfect 3-0 GLIAC mark.

Jacqueline Smith led the Wildcats will 11 kills, while McKenzie Gruner and Evynn Layshock each added nine. PNW had three record double-digit kills. The Pride flashed on the service line, recording nine service aces throughout the match. PNW also doubled up NMU in blocks at the net, 8-4. 


How it Happened 

It was a cluster of back-and-forth from first serve, with neither side being able to establish a run. Finally, the Wildcats found a groove for four consecutive points with Jacqueline Smith on the service line to gain an 11-9 edge nearing mid-set. It was countered by PNW, who rattled off five of six points following the NMU run to grab a 2-point lead themselves. The Pride rode that momentum to the finish line of the first set, closing out the first set with seven of the final nine points for a 25-18 win. 

NMU's -.037 hitting percentage proved detrimental in Purdue Northwest's second-set victory in the seventh all-time matchup between the two sides. 

The fortunes seemed flipped for the Green and Gold in set two, quickly jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Another four-point swing soon after had the 'Cats doubling up the Pride, 10-5. 

Despite the Pride hanging around and closing the gap to a point at 18-17, setter Lauren Van Remortel found the hot hand late with McKenzie Gruner's fifth and sixth kills on just her sixth and seventh swings of the night pushing NMU on top in set two, 25-21. 

With the scoreboard reading all square, the third set was tightly contested, as the entire set was played with the gap at two or less until PNW went up 23-20 late. Freshman Anika Huelskamp recorded two service aces to go up by three, and Livia Thomsen put the final touch on the set win for PNW with the team's fourth service ace of the set. 

In a must-win fourth set for Northern, the 'Cats again went ahead 4-0 as they did in the second. Opposite to the third, NMU was able to maintain at least a two-point advantage over the Pride for quite some time, but PNW was able to make that a thought of the past halfway through the set, pulling within one at 14-13. 

With the set finally tied at 16-16, the Pride kept the momentum to the finish, recording nine of the final 11 points for a 25-19 fourth-set win and a 3-1 match victory over NMU.


Up Next
The Wildcats will have a chance to bounce back tomorrow afternoon as they'll be in Kenosha, Wisconsin to take on Parkside, with first serve slated for 3 p.m. ET.