Volleyball tops Nova Southeastern at Hampton Inn Invitational

The basics

Inside the numbers

(19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-14)

• Senior Anika Huelskamp (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) led the Lions offensively with a match-high 18 kills, while senior Katrina Soto (Newport Beach, Calif./University) added 10 and freshman Ainsley Johnson (Springfield, Ill./Calvary) contributed nine.
• Johnson paced Purdue Northwest at the net with seven blocks, while junior Kennedy Rowzee (Rock Falls, Ill./Newman Central Catholic) added six and Huelskamp finished with four.
• Freshman Addison Smith (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) directed the Lions' offense with 23 assists, while sophomore Chloe Deckard (La Porte, Ind./New Prairie) added 17 assists.
• Freshman Cecelia Goode (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw) led PNW defensively with 10 digs, while senior Aiden Leverick (Munster, Ind./Munster) and Smith each contributed six.
• Deckard and Smith each recorded two service aces, while Leverick added one.
• Huelskamp finished with 20.0 points, while Johnson added 13.5 and Soto contributed 11.0.
• Purdue Northwest totaled 56 kills, six aces, 13 blocks and 42 digs while hitting .237 as a team.
• Nova Southeastern was led by Erika Spankus with 15 kills and Natalya Bergant with 12.
• Abbie Roth distributed 26 assists for the Sharks, while Taylor Teaman paced the team with 15 digs.
• Nova Southeastern finished with 38 kills, six aces, eight blocks and 48 digs while hitting .136.

The breakdown

• Nova Southeastern opened the match with a strong offensive showing, hitting .360 with 12 kills to take the first set, 25-19.
• Purdue Northwest answered emphatically in the second set, producing 15 kills while hitting .333 to even the match with a 25-19 victory.
• The Lions continued to battle in the third set, limiting Nova Southeastern to eight kills and a -.138 hitting percentage while earning a 25-21 decision.
• PNW saved its best offensive performance for the fourth set, recording 20 kills while hitting an impressive .410.
• The Lions used the dominant fourth-set performance to pull away from the Sharks, 25-14, and secure the 3-1 victory.
• Purdue Northwest held a significant advantage in total kills, finishing with 56 compared to Nova Southeastern's 38.
• The Lions also controlled the net, recording 13 blocks to the Sharks' eight.
• PNW's .237 team hitting percentage was well above Nova Southeastern's .136 mark.
• Huelskamp turned in one of her strongest performances of the season, finishing with 18 kills while hitting .295 and adding four blocks.
• Johnson provided a major presence at the net with seven blocks, while Rowzee added six as the Lions combined for 13 total blocks.
• Smith finished with 23 assists and six digs, while Deckard contributed 17 assists and two aces.
• Goode recorded a team-high 10 digs, helping the Lions maintain a strong defensive effort throughout the four-set victory.
• The win moved Purdue Northwest to 2-5 on the season and gave the Lions a strong finish to the Hampton Inn Invitational.

• Purdue Northwest returns to action Friday, September 11, opening GLIAC play hosting Northern Michigan at 6:00 p.m. CT at the Fitness and Recreation Center in Hammond, Indiana.