The Purdue Northwest volleyball team split their two games to start the 2023 season falling to Saint Martin's in Game 1, 3-1, and then coming back to defeat the host team Westminster College in a five-set thriller, 3-2, in Day 1 of the Westminster Invitational.
The Basics
- Records: PNW (1-1), Saint Martin's (1-0), Westminster College (1-1)
- Location:Â Behnken Field House -Â Salt Lake City, Utah
- Attendance: 90
Game 1 vs. Saint Martin's
Inside The Numbers
- (25-23,18-25,17-25,20-25)
- Freshman Anika Huelskamp (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard)Â led Purdue Northwest with 12 kills and chipped in five digs.
- Freshman Katrina Soto (Irvine, Calif./University) added ten spikes and four digs.
- Sophomore Marina Gronkiewicz (Munster, Ind./Munster) dished out a team-high 22 assists.
- Junior Olivia Brooke (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer HS) notched 14 assists and ten digs.
- Sophomore Livia Thomsen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) led the Pride defense with 14 digs.
- Emmy Hansen led Saint Martin's with 14 kills.
- Karla Soto handed out a game-high 42 assists for the Saints.
- Abigail Halstead led Saint Martin's with 14 digs.
The Breakdown
- Purdue Northwest finished the contest with 45Â kills, 41 assists, 50 digs, and nine blocks.
- Saint Martin's ended the game with 51 kills, 45 assists, 46 digs, and ten blocks.
Game 2 vs. Westminster College
Inside The Numbers
- (19-25,25-22,21-25,25-23,15-13)
- Huelskamp led Purdue Northwest with 14 kills and notched 16 digs.
- Soto, senior Summer Clark (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Christian HS), and senior Erica Brohm (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley HS) all added ten spikes each during the game.
- Gronkiewicz once again dished out a team-high 24 assists and chipped in 11 digs.
- Junior Olivia Brooke (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer HS) tallied 20 assists and eight digs.
- Thomsen led the Pride backline with 19 digs.
- Olivia Curtis led Westminster College with a game-best 15 kills.
- Leila Cornejo aided the Griffins offense with a game-high 31 assists.
The Breakdown
- Purdue Northwest ended the contest with 57 kills, 54 assists, 74 digs, and eight blocks.
- Westminster finished the game with 64 kills, 58 assists, 75 digs, and six blocks.
Up Next
- The Pride next return compete in Day 2 of the Westminster Invitational on Saturday, September 2 when they take on Texas Women's University at 11:00 a.m. central time and Oklahoma Christian at 5:00 p.m. central time.
