PNW Volleyball Drops Both Matches on Final Day of Parkside Tournament
KENOSHA, Wis. — The Purdue University Northwest volleyball team dropped both matches in the final day of the Parkside Hampton Inn Tournament hosted by Parkside on Saturday.
MATCH 1: SVSU 3, PNW 0
The Pride were led by senior Morgan Spencer (Oswego, Ill./Aurora Central Catholic), who had a team-high 11 kills in the match. Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) picked up 24 assists while Annie Pulizos (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) recorded eight kills and had a .389 percentage for PNW in the setback.
In the first game, SVSU went ahead 11-6 but PNW rallied for five out of the next six points to cut it to 12-11 thanks to a kill by Spencer. The Cardinals answered back with a run of their own amd took the game 25-22.
PNW jumped out to an early 5-4 lead in the second half with a kill by Pulizos after a SVSU rally. Midway through the second game, PNW would tie it 15-all after an SVSU attack error but SVSU took control for the remainder of the set and came away with the 25-18 win.
Spencer evened the score at 5-5 in the third set thanks to a nice assist by Christina Dal Santo (St, John, Ind./Andrean) before taking an 11-10 lead after four straight points due to an attack error on SVSU.
After another rally by the Cardinals, PNW put together one more fight, scoring three straight points and tied the match at 17-all. SVSU took the lead which would stand for the rest of the game as the Cardinals took Set 3, 25-21.
MATCH 2: PARKSIDE 3, PNW 2
Jenna Dal Santo (St. John, Ind./Andrean) led the Pride with 13 kills in the second match of the day. Morgan Spencer added 12 kills of her own to go with five service aces. Senior Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) put together an impressive match with a .350 percentage and eight kills.
The Pride took advantage of eight Parkside errors to take the first set, 28-26. The two teams were close throughout, as Purdue’s largest lead was five. Parkside took a 25-24 lead on an attack error, before Purdue took three of the next four points to secure the first set. Morgan Spencer closed it out with a kill set up by Brooke Ahrens.
Purdue Northwest jumped all over the Rangers in set two, extending their lead out as far as 11 after a Eudora Negri (Munster, Ind./Munster) service ace made it 21-10. Parkside mounted a late rally but an Annie Pulizos block gave PNW the second set by a final of 25-19.
The margin was razor-thin throughout the third set, as neither team held more than a three-point advantage. After a Spencer kill made it 23-all, the Beavers won the final two points to earn a 25-23 victory.
In the fourth set, Parkside jumped out to an early lead after a Beaver kill made it 20-14. PNW mounted an impressive comeback, pulling it to 24-23 after a Negri ace. An Elizabeth Mavis block on the next play gave the game to Parkside, 25-23, forcing a fifth set.
The Pride were unable to close it out as Parkside took the decisive set 15-9 closing out PNW’s weekend.
PNW returns to action next Friday, Aug. 31 as the Pride travel to the St. Edwards University Hilltopper Invite and take on Eastern New Mexico University with match time set for 9 a.m.
