AURORA, Ill. – Ending its play in the 10^th Annual Midwest Region Crossover with a three-set (25-15, 25-23 and 25-19) victory over Maryville University (Mo.), the Purdue University Northwest volleyball team got some momentum Saturday at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill., before returning to conference play next Friday.  Unfortunately, the Pride dropped their morning match against University of Missouri-St. Louis in three sets by scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-15. 

In Saturday's first match against UMSL, PNW got a team-leading six kills and three block assists by senior Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County).  Sophomore Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) recorded 18 assists, three digs and two block assists.  Purdue Northwest had a solid start taking a quick 5-2 lead after a kill by Elsea.  However, the Tritons came back in a big way outscoring the Pride 18-2 to take a 20-7 lead in the set before winning 25-9. 

PNW fell behind early in the second set trailing 12-6 and never recovered en route to a 25-14 setback.  A kill by Ahrens in the third set gave the Pride a 10-9 lead, but UMSL used a 10-1 run to take the lead for good winning the match with its 25-15 victory.

In the afternoon match against Maryville, junior Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) led the attack with 12 kills, while senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) added 11 kills, three aces and eight digs.  Ahrens shined as well posting 32 assists, six kills and five digs as well as Elsea tallied eight kills and three block assists.  Junior Casey Neulieb (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) was tough defensively with a team-best 11 digs.   

PNW built an early 6-1 lead thanks in part to an early ace by Martin.  Kills by Ahrens and Martin pushed the lead to 15-6 later in the first set before Martin closed the door with a kill to end the first set at 25-15.  The second set was a tight one throughout with the Pride never able to take more than a three-point lead, but the result was the same as a kill by Martin ended the set 25-23.  With the score tied at 11-11 in the third set, aces by Ahrens and Martin helped spur a 7-2 surge that helped Purdue Northwest pull away for the 25-19 win and secure the match.

The Pride (6-17 overall/1-8 GLIAC) gets back to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Friday, October 20, heading up to Marquette, Mich., to take on Northern Michigan University.  The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start at Vandament Arena in Marquette.