The Purdue Northwest volleyball team split its final day of the Midwest Volleyball Crossover on Saturday, defeating McKendree in four sets, 3-1, before falling to Illinois Springfield in a five-set battle, 3-2, at the Hammond Sportsplex.
The basics
- Game one: Purdue Northwest 3, McKendree 1
- Game one records: Purdue Northwest (5-14, 2-8 GLIAC), McKendree (4-17, 0-8 GLVC)
- Game two: Illinois Springfield 3, Purdue Northwest 2
- Game two records: Purdue Northwest (5-15, 2-8 GLIAC), Illinois Springfield (7-14, 1-7 GLVC)
- Location: Hammond Sportsplex – Hammond, Indiana
- Attendance: 31 for game one; 50 for game two
Inside the numbers
- Senior Anika Huelskamp led the Lions in kills in both matches, recording 15 against McKendree and 15 against Illinois Springfield. She also totaled 25 digs, four service aces and three assists across the two contests.
- Senior Katrina Soto contributed 12 kills in the opening win and 11 in the second match, finishing the day with 23 kills.
- Junior Kennedy Rowzee recorded 15 kills across the two matches, including 11 against Illinois Springfield, while adding seven blocks.
- Graduate student De'sheonna Foster totaled 20 kills and eight blocks across the doubleheader, including nine kills and four blocks in the victory over McKendree.
- Freshman Addison Smith directed the Lions' offense with 33 assists against McKendree and 48 against Illinois Springfield, finishing with 81 assists and 32 digs on the day.
- Junior Alexandra Jelcic led the Lions with five service aces in the opening match, while freshman Cecelia Goode added four.
- The Lions totaled 121 kills, 24 service aces, 15 blocks and 152 digs across the two matches.
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The breakdown
Game one: Purdue Northwest 3, McKendree 1
- PNW started the day with a strong opening set, earning a 25-18 win behind 15 kills and a .406 hitting percentage.
- McKendree evened the match by taking the second set 25-23, but the Lions responded with a 25-22 victory in the third set.
- Purdue Northwest closed out the match with a convincing 25-18 fourth-set win, recording 12 kills and a .385 hitting percentage while limiting McKendree to a .108 mark.
- Huelskamp paced the offense with 15 kills, followed by Soto with 12 and Delanie Voss with nine.
- Jelcic finished with five service aces, Goode added four, and Rowzee and Foster each recorded four blocks.
- The Lions held the advantage in kills (55-48), service aces (14-10), blocks (9-4) and digs (73-64), while hitting .286 as a team compared to McKendree's .166.
Game two: Illinois Springfield 3, Purdue Northwest 2
- The Lions opened the second match with a tightly contested 25-23 first-set victory.
- Illinois Springfield answered by taking the second set 26-24, but PNW regained the lead with a 25-23 win in the third.
- The Prairie Stars forced a deciding fifth set with another 26-24 victory in the fourth, setting up a close finish.
- Illinois Springfield claimed the final set 15-13 to earn the five-set win.
- Huelskamp and Foster each recorded 15 and 11 kills, respectively, while Soto and Rowzee contributed 11 kills apiece.
- Huelskamp led PNW with four service aces and 17 digs, while Smith added 48 assists and a team-high 18 digs. Goode finished with 15 digs.
- Despite recording more kills than Illinois Springfield, 66-61, and more service aces, 10-8, the Lions fell short. The Prairie Stars held a 10-6 edge in blocks, while PNW finished with 79 digs to Illinois Springfield's 80.
