The Purdue Northwest Volleyball team made program history defeating Michigan Tech for the first-time ever while earning a big GLIAC win on Sunday afternoon, 3-1.

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (7-7,4-4), Michigan Tech (7-8,4-3)
• Location: John Friend Court – Hammond, Indiana
• Attendance: 150

Inside The Numbers

• (25-21,25-21,22-25,25-22)
• Junior Anika Huelskamp (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) led Purdue Northwest with 20 kills, followed by senior Allyson Cathey (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) with 16 and senior Arra Cottrell (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) with 14.
• Senior Marina Gronkiewicz (Munster, Ind./Munster) guided the attack with a career-high 50 assists while adding 14 digs.
• Senior Livia Thomsen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) anchored the back row with a team-high 15 digs, while sophomore Kennedi Brass (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka) chipped in 11.
• Cathey and sophomore Kennedy Rowzee (Rock Falls, Ill./Newman Central Catholic) each tallied 4 blocks at the net, with Cottrell adding 2.
• Thomsen, Huelskamp, and sophomore Julia Ross (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North) each recorded service aces, combining for 4 of the team's 6.
• Both teams finished with 62 kills and 10 blocks in a tightly contested match.
• Purdue Northwest hit .297 as a team, including a match-high .341 in the second set.
• The Pride and Michigan Tech were even in digs (60-60) and kills (62-62), while PNW held a slight edge in aces (6-5) and assists (60-57).
• Madelyn Torola paced Michigan Tech with 18 kills, while Jacqueline Yancy and Brooke Dzwik added 14 and 10, respectively.
• Madelynn Kreider and Tess Hayes combined for 52 assists for the Huskies, and Julia Fledderjohn recorded a team-high 15 digs.
• Paige Wagner led Michigan Tech at the net with 5 total blocks.

The Breakdown

• Purdue Northwest started strong, winning the opening two sets by identical 25-21 scores behind efficient hitting and timely blocks.
• The Pride hit .333 in the first set and improved to .341 in the second, committing just seven total errors across the two frames.
• Michigan Tech fought back in the third, posting a match-best .344 hitting percentage and winning 25-22 to stay alive.
• Purdue Northwest regained momentum in the fourth, pulling away late in a back-and-forth set to close out the match 25-22.
• Both teams matched each other in total kills and blocks, but Purdue Northwest's consistency in the first two sets proved the difference.

Up Next

• Purdue Northwest is now set to compete min the Midwest Volleyball Crossover this weekend from Friday, October 17-18. The crossover will be hosted at the Hammond Sports Complex in Hammond, Indiana.