Purdue Northwest Volleyball Falls in Three to William Jewell
AURORA, Ill. – Senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) tallied nine kills and seven digs, but the Purdue University Northwest volleyball team dropped its first match of the 10th Annual Midwest Region Crossover to William Jewell College (Mo.) Friday afternoon at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill. The Pride lost in three sets by scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-20.
Sophomore Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) finished the match with 25 assists and eight digs for PNW. Junior Kylie Tincher (Sellersburg, Ind./Rock Creek Academy) was solid defensively for the Pride totaling a team-leading 14 digs. Junior Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) added five kills, an ace and a block assist.
A kill by Martin and three straight attacking errors by William Jewell helped the Pride take an early 12-9 lead in the opening set. However, the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-12 edge. Kills by Martin and senior Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County) helped PNW close the gap to 19-17, but William Jewell hung on for the 25-22 win.
PNW got off to a slow start in the second set falling behind 8-2 early, but a kill by sophomore Auburn Dodd (Chicago, Ill./Gwendolyn Brooks) later in the set brought the Pride within a point at 8-7. Another kill by Martin had the Black and Gold still within a point at 20-19 late in the set, but William Jewell finished strong for the 25-20 win. Back-to-back kills by Jones in the third set tied the score at 12-12, but the Cardinals pulled away late again for the 25-20 win and the match.
Purdue Northwest (5-16 overall) wraps up play in the 10th Annual Midwest Region Crossover on Saturday, October 14. The Pride play two matches Saturday with the first one at 10 a.m. CT against Missouri-St. Louis and the second one at 4 p.m. CT against Maryville (Mo.).