Elsea’s Big Match Powers PNW Volleyball Past IU-Kokomo
WESTVILLE, Ind. – Led by senior middle hitter Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County), the Purdue University Northwest volleyball team picked up the thrilling five-set victory over IU-Kokomo Wednesday night at H.D. Kesling Gymnasium in Westville, Ind. Elsea recorded a match-high 15 kills with a .560 attack percentage, five block assists and a pair of solo blocks.
Senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) tallied 13 kills and 12 digs, while Jenna Pasko (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) notched 10 kills to round out the players in double-figure kills.
Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) led the squad with 46 assists and 16 digs with Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) recording nine kills and a team-high 17 digs to lead the Pride.
After Purdue Northwest won the opening set 26-24, Indiana-Kokomo answered back winning the next two sets 25-19 and 25-19. The Black and Gold bounced back in the fourth set with a 26-24 victory to even the match at 2-2. The Pride jumped out to a hot start in the fifth set capitalizing on some miscues from the Cougars to take a 5-1 lead before a Pasko kill put PNW ahead 12-6.
The Black and Gold finished strong in the final points to come away with the 15-11 win and five-set victory.
Purdue Northwest returns to action on Friday, Sept. 8, when they travel to Evansville, Ind. to face off with Northwood University (Mich.) and the University of Southern Indiana at the 2017 Dunn Hospitality Invitational. The first of four tournament matches for the Pride in Evansville starts on 9 a.m. Friday.