Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Northwood University (Fla.) volleyball team dealt with their first setbacks of the 2014 season, dropping a pair of matches on day one of the 2014 Northwood Hardwood Challenge, presented by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, Friday at the Countess de Hoernle Student Life Center. The Lady Seahawks fell to Roosevelt University in five sets, 3-2 (26-24, 25-16, 23-25, 14-25, 11-15), and then dropped a four-setter, 3-1 (25-18, 16-25, 20-25, 21-25) to Florida College in the day's finale.
Against Roosevelt, the Lady Seahawks cruised to a 2-0 lead in the opening sets, and held a 22-14 lead over the Lakers in the third set. Roosevelt mounted a furious comeback, scoring seven straight points to make it a 22-21 game. Northwood sat two points shy of victory as the Lakers capped off the comeback with four consecutive points to close the third set. Roosevelt carried their momentum into the fourth and fifth set to deal the Lady Seahawks their first loss of the season.
Sophomore outside hitter Nikki McKown (Lakeland, Fla.) tallied a team-high 14 kills against Roosevelt. Junior outside hitter Veera Hietala (Tampere, Finland) added a double-double with 18 digs and 11 kills. Sophomore setter Breanne Machacek (Deer Park, Fla.) dished out a team-high 22 assists, while senior libero Ti'Ana Fox (Tucson, Ariz.) snared a team-high 25 digs. Senior defensive specialist Anni Polscher (Elmshorn, Germany) served up four aces with 12 digs, while sophomore setter Nicole Papineau (Walnut Creek, Calif.) had 13 assists.
Florida College continued to be a thorn in the side of the Lady Seahawks, picking up their fifth straight victory over the Lady Seahawks in the last three seasons. McKown buried a team-high 14 kills with five digs, while senior middle blocker Sydney Fish (Kalamazoo, Mich.) contributed 10 kills, four digs and two blocks. Papineau racked up a team-high 29 assists with 15 digs. Fox grabbed a team-high 21 digs and four assists, while Hietala added 13 digs in the loss.
The Lady Seahawks dropped to 6-2 on the season. Northwood will return to the court for the final day of the Hardwood Challenge Saturday afternoon. The Lady Seahawks will face Southern Wesleyan at 2:00 p.m., followed by the tournament finale against Sun Conference foe St. Thomas University at 6:00 p.m.
NORTHWOOD VOLLEYBALL
