Nov. 6, 2011
Box Score
Midland, Mich. - For the first time since 2000, Northwood defeated Grand Valley State on Sunday (Nov. 6) afternoon, by a 3-2 decision (19-25, 25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 18-16). It broke a streak of 29 straight victories for the Lakers over the Timberwolves.
Things got off to a rocky start for the Lakers in the first set as Northwood scored the opening three points of the match. GVSU rebounded quickly, going on an 8-1 to take an 8-4 lead and force a Northwood timeout. The Timberwolves would respond with a 6-4 run of their own to cut the lead to 12-10, forcing a Laker timeout to regroup. GVSU responded with a five-point run that pushed the lead out to 17-10 and created a deficit that Northwood couldn't overcome as GVSU took set one by a 25-19 score.
Northwood got off to another hot start in the second set, jumping out to a 10-6 lead before the Lakers called a timeout. GVSU would then go on a 6-1 run, taking a 12-11 lead before the Timberwolves got two straight to take the lead back at 13-12. Northwood would take a timeout at 15-all following a couple Timberwolf attack errors. GVSU would take a 19-18 lead after a solo block from junior Eno Umoh, a Northwood attack error and then a combined block that included Umoh and sophomore Megan Schroeder. The Lakers led 23-21 but Northwood got a kill and two straight blocks to take a 24-23 lead that forced a Laker timeout. GVSU couldn't rebound from the Northwood run, however, dropping set two by a 25-23 score. The Lakers struggled offensively for most of the set, hitting -.050, a stark contrast to the .171 they hit in the first set.
Set three turned out to be a back-and-forth affair as the teams battled to a 15-14 score, Northwood leading, with no team gaining more than a two-point advantage. The Timberwolves finally put a run together, moving out to a 20-15 advantage before three straight Laker points following a timeout made it 20-18 and forced a Northwood timeout.
A Northwood attack error after the break drew the Lakers within one and then a combined block from Umoh and freshman Clair Ruhenkamp that fell on the sideline brought the match to a 20-all tie. Umoh followed that up with yet another block, this time solo off a tip to push the Lakers ahead 21-20. An ace from sophomore Sacha Gill then made it a seven-point run and a two point advantage for GVSU. The Timberwolves stopped the bleeding with a kill to cut the lead to 22-21 and then scored on a broken play to tie the match at 22. Senior Courtney McCotter got the Lakers back on track with an attack that landed perfectly in the far corner of the court to tie the match at 23. A Northwood attack error then went long, but the Lakers returned the favor on the next point to tie the set at 24. Another Laker attack error gave Northwood a 25-24 advantage and on the next point, a Northwood attack appeared to land long but the call was overturned and a touch was called on the Lakers to give Northwood set three by a 26-24 score.
GVSU scored four of the first five points of the fourth set and never looked back. Northwood never drew within two points as the Lakers captured the set by a 25-19 score, holding the Timberwolves to a -.026 hitting percentage in the set.
Northwood yet again got off to a quick start in the deciding fifth set, pulling out to an early 5-1 lead that forced a GVSU timeout. The Lakers came out of the timeout with two straight points after a Northwood attack error and two straight blocks that included Umoh. Another Northwood attack error then tied the set at five. With Northwood leading 11-10, the Lakers got an emphatic kill from sophomore Abby Aiken and then another combined block, this time from Umoh and Schroeder to give GVSU a 12-11 advantage. Northwood made a comeback, going up 14-13, but a Schroeder kill and a Laker service ace turned the tables, making it a 15-14 GVSU lead. The Timberwolves again made a comeback, scoring two straight to go up 16-15 before an Umoh kill tied the set at 16. Northwood then got two straight kills to end the marathon match with an 18-16 win.
The Laker team recorded a season-high in blocks with 19 in the match. Umoh set a career high in blocks for a single match, recording 14 total blocks, surpassing the 10 blocks she had in her first career match in 2009 against UT-Permian Basin.
Aiken led the team in kills with 13 while hitting .125. Umoh hit .148 with eight kills to her credit. GVSU had four players in double figures for digs with Gill leading the way with 24. Junior Olivia Kohler had 17 digs and 10 assists while Ruhenkamp had 13 digs and 26 assists. Aiken had six blocks while junior Abby Ebels and Schroeder each had four, all block assists.
Grand Valley State (14-12, 11-8 GLIAC) will now compete in the GLIAC Volleyball Tournament this Thursday (Nov. 10). The opponent and site are yet to be determined.
