The Purdue Northwest Lions earned a convincing road sweep over Lake Superior State, 3-0, in GLIAC action on Friday afternoon at the James Norris Center. Purdue Northwest claimed each set by narrow margins (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) to improve to 6-15 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
The Basics
- Records: Purdue Northwest (6-15, 3-8 GLIAC), Lake Superior State (5-18, 1-10 GLIAC)
- Location: James Norris Center – Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
- Attendance: 812
Inside The Numbers
- Senior Katrina Soto (Newport Beach, Calif./University) led the Lions with nine kills and added a block.
- Junior Kennedy Rowzee (Rock Falls, Ill./Newman Central Catholic) recorded eight kills on 11 attacks while posting an outstanding .636 hitting percentage.
- Senior Anika Huelskamp (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) finished with seven kills, 10 digs and a service ace.
- Graduate student De'sheonna Foster (Evansville, Ind./Boonville) added seven kills on a .467 hitting percentage and was part of two blocks.
- Junior Delanie Voss (Cedar Lake, Ind./Illiana Christian) contributed six kills, eight digs and two block assists.
- Freshman Addison Smith (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) paced the offense with 34 assists while adding two service aces and six digs.
- Senior Giana Frayer (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) led the defensive effort with 15 digs and chipped in two assists.
- Junior Alexandra Jelcic (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) sparked the Lions from the service line with a match-high three aces.
- Purdue Northwest totaled 42 kills, hit .289 as a team, and finished with advantages in aces (8-3) and points (53-50).
- Lake Superior State was led by Elisa Rizzoli with 11 kills, while Ava Wells recorded 11 digs and Azra Bilgicer tallied 15 assists.
The Breakdown
- The opening set was tightly contested throughout, but the Lions edged the Lakers 25-23 behind 15 kills and a .368 hitting percentage.
- Purdue Northwest carried the momentum into the second set, recording 11 kills and limiting mistakes to secure a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
- The Lions closed out the sweep in the third set, overcoming another late challenge from Lake Superior State to earn a 25-22 win.
- Purdue Northwest's serving proved to be a key factor, producing eight aces compared to just three by the Lakers.
- The Lions were efficient offensively throughout the afternoon, posting a .289 attack percentage while committing only nine attack errors on 114 swings.
- Rowzee and Foster combined for 15 kills while hitting .548, helping Purdue Northwest maintain offensive balance across the front row.
- Defensively, Frayer's 15 digs and Huelskamp's 10 digs helped the Lions keep pace in a match where the two teams were nearly even in digs (53-52 in favor of Lake Superior State).
- Purdue Northwest secured the season sweep of the Lakers and picked up its third GLIAC victory of the year.
Up Next
- Purdue Northwest continues its GLIAC road trip on Saturday, October 24, when they take on Northern Michigan. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 PM CT in Marquette, Michigan.
