Martin Shines; Purdue Northwest Falls to Michigan Tech in Three Sets

Martin Shines; Purdue Northwest Falls to Michigan Tech in Three Sets
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) led the attack with 12 kills, but it was not enough as the Purdue University Northwest volleyball team fell in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action to Michigan Tech Saturday afternoon at SDC Wood Gym in Houghton, Mich.  The Pride dropped the match in three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-11. 

Sophomore Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) added 18 assists, seven digs and five kills; while sophomore Eudora Negri (Munster, Ind./Munster) chipped in 12 assists and six digs for PNW.   Defensively, junior Casey Neulieb (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) and Kylie Tincher (Sellersburg, Ind./Rock Creek Academy) were both solid with 12 and 11 digs, respectively.  Senior Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County) recorded six kills as well for the Pride.

A kill by Martin in the first set gave Purdue Northwest an early 8-5 advantage.  However, three straight kills by the Huskies later in the game tied the score at 10-10 and MTU used the momentum to build a 19-13 lead.  Two kills apiece from both Martin and Elsea closed the gap to five at 23-18, but a PNW service error and a kill by Michigan Tech ended the set, 25-19.

The second set started off close with the score tied at 9-9 in the early stages thanks in part to a pair of  kills from junior Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll).  The Huskies started to pull away going ahead 20-13 before a pair of kills by Elsea helped cut into the deficit at 22-16.  Unfortunately, the lead proved too large as MTU took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win.  Michigan Tech took control early in the third set building a quick 8-1 lead.  The Pride got kills from Ahrens to make the score, 17-8, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way as a 25-11 decision ended the match.

Purdue Northwest (6-19 overall/1-10 GLIAC) takes a break from GLIAC play on Tuesday, October 24, and hosts former Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) foe Saint Xavier University (Ill.).  The non-conference match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at the Fitness & Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind.