Martin Tough; PNW Volleyball Drops GLIAC Road Match to Davenport
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Despite a team-leading 13 kills by senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley), the Purdue Northwest volleyball team dropped its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road match to Davenport University (Mich.) Tuesday night at the DU Student Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Pride fell in three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 25-17 and now sit at 4-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
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The match was a tight one early in the first set with a kill by Martin tying the score at 14-14. The set stayed close the rest of the way with neither team able to build more than a two-point lead before a kill by Davenport freshman Laura Bouwkamp gave the Panthers the early 1-0 advantage in the match.
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It was more of the same early in the second set before DU used four straight kills to build a 16-12 lead. Attacking errors down the stretch hurt the Pride in the late exchanges of the set, which helped the Panthers pick up the 25-19 victory.
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Davenport got off to a hot start in the third set taking an early 11-4 lead. Kills by sophomore Auburn Dodd (Chicago, Ill./Gwendolyn Brooks) and Martin helped PNW trim the deficit to four, 16-12. An ace by Martin put Purdue Northwest within three at 18-15, but DU answered with five straight points to pull away and take the match.
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Martin also tallied six digs and a pair of aces on the night. Sophomore Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) finished the match with 30 assists and seven digs. Dodd recorded five kills and five block assists for the Pride, while junior Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) added seven kills.
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PNW returns to action on Friday, Sept. 22, when they face off against Wayne State University (Mich.) for another GLIAC match-up at the Fitness & Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind. The home match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT start.