The Purdue Northwest volleyball team split their first two games of the Midwest Volleyball Crossover defeating Missouri S&T, 3-1, then falling in a five-set battle to Illinois Springfield to end the day, 3-2.
The Basics
- Records: PNW (5-12,2-6), Missouri S&T (4-13), UIS (13-5)
- Location: Hammond Sportsplex – Hammond, Ind.
- Attendance: 50
Game 1 vs. Missouri S&T
Inside The Numbers
- (26-24,19-25,25-19,25-20)
- Arra Cottrell (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) led the Pride with a game-high 21 kills and tallied three service aces.
- Junior Marina Gronkiewicz (Munster, Ind./Munster), Freshman Kennedy Rowzee (Rock Falls, Ill./Newman Central Catholic) and sophomore Anika Huelskamp (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard)s all added eight kills each while Gronkiewicz also added 17 assists during the game.
- Senior Olivia Brooke (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer HS) guided the Pride with a game-high 26 assists and chipped in 13 digs.
- Junior Livia Thomsen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) led Purdue Northwest defensively with a game-best 26 digs.
- Alina Carillo led Missouri S&T with 15 kills.
- Annie Arand handed out a 21 assists for the Miners during the match.
The Breakdown
- The Pride got off to a good start battling in a hard-fought set one to take a 1-0 lead.
- The Miners returned in the second set to tie things up 1-1.
- Purdue Northwest grabbed the lead taking the third set to make it 2-1.
- The Pride were able to hold Missouri S&T in the fourth set to seal the win in the end, 3-1.
- Purdue Northwest finished the game with 58 kills, 52 assists, 86 digs, and eight blocks.
- The Miners ended the contest with 49 kills, 46 assists, 85 digs, and ten blocks.
Game 2 vs. lllinois Springfield
Inside The Numbers
- (25-19,25-23,23-25,19-25,9-15)
- Arra Cottrell (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) led the Pride with a game-high 24 kills. Her 24 kills were a new single match record for most kills in a game for Purdue Northwest Volleyball.
- Junior Marina Gronkiewicz (Munster, Ind./Munster) added 13 kills while notching 18 assists during the game.
- Sophomore Anika Huelskamp (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) chipped in 11 kills.
- Senior Olivia Brooke (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer HS) guided the Pride with 39 assists and tallied in 15 digs.
- Junior Livia Thomsen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) led Purdue Northwest defensively with a game-best 24 digs.
- Eirini Glynou led Illinois Springfield with 20 kills.
- Erica Sledge handed out a game-best 46 assists for the Prairie Stars during the match.
The Breakdown
- The Pride started off fast grabbing the first set and going up 1-0.
- Purdue Norhwest took the second set to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
- UIS did not give up and notched the third set to only be down 2-1.
- The Prairie Stars came back to take the fourth set and ties thing 2-2 heading into the all important fifth set.
- The Pride were not able to hang on in the end as UIS won the fifth set to win the match, 3-2.
- Purdue Northwest finished the contest with 63 kills, 60 assists, 76 digs, and 11 blocks.
- Illinois Springfield ended the game with 59 kills, 53 assists, 71 digs, and six blocks.
Up Next
- The Pride compete in Day 2 of the Midwest Volleyball Crossover on Saturday, October 19 when they take on Ohio Dominican. Gametime is set for 4:30 PM CT at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Indiana.
