SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- With a starting line-up that featured a true freshman and four sophomores, the Northern State volleyball squad tipped off the 2013 season with a pair of sweeps of Union (Tenn.) and Lindenwood (Mo.) at the LaQuinta/Drury Kickoff Classic on Friday. The Wolves won 25-20, 25-18, 25-11 in the opener and took a 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 win in the second match.
"I thought we kept our composure for as young as we are," said head coach Brent Aldridge. "The good thing is, every match we're going to get a little better. And I know we can, so that's exciting."
After starting the day with an increasingly dominant win over Union, Northern State cruised through the first two sets of its win over Lindenwood, but found themselves facing an uphill battle in the final set to end their day on the court. Lindenwood jumped out to the early lead and forced the Wolves to put together a rally to re-gain control.
Northern State rallied to go up 17-14, then outscored the Lions 8-4 to win the match.
Freshman Tori Biach capped a solid collegiate debut with nine kills on 10 attempts in the win. Her lone error of the match came on her final swing. She also tallied nine total blocks on the day, five in her first match in an NSU uniform.
"She's a physical kid that's going to help us," said Aldridge.
Sophomore Kelsey Chambers had 12 kills in the nightcap to go along with her 13 kills in the opener. Fellow sophomore Cari McGarvie also had 13 kills against Union. As a team, the Wolves hit .290 at the net in the first match and .182 in the second, but capitalized on opponent miscues throughout the day. NSU forced their opponents into sub-.100 hitting efforts in both outings.
"We didn't even do a scouting report on these teams," said Aldridge. "It's about us, this whole weekend. It's just trying to find out who we are."
Northern will wrap up the weekend facing Arkansas Tech and the host team Drury on Saturday.
|Northern State 3, Union 0|
Serving: Northern State 5 aces (Chambers 2 aces); Union 3 aces (Abbey Wainwright 15 aces).
Hitting: Northern State 86-100, 43 kills (Chambers 21-25, 13 kills; McGarvie 18-21, 13 aces); Union 77-93, 24 kills (Wainwright 19-22, 8 kills).
Setting: Northern State 35 assists (Drew Smith 34 assists); Union 18 assists (Lydia Wright 15 assists).
Digs: Northern State 43 (Chambers 10; Sami Nygaard 10); Union 41 (Elise Seufert 11).
Blocks: Northern State 7 (Biach 5); Union 7 (Mallory Baker 4).
Records: Northern State 1-0; Union 0-1.
|Northern State 3, Lindenwood 0|
Serving: Northern State 3 aces (Finizio 1 ace, Smith 1 ace, McGarvie 1 ace); Lindenwood 3 aces (Emma Brydels 1 ace, Brianna Justis 1 ace, Anna Reichert 1 ace).
Hitting: Northern State 79-99, 38 kills (Chambers 23-31, 12 kills; Biach 9-10, 9 kills); Lindenwood 68-90, 26 kills (14-19, 7 kills).
Setting: Northern State 31 assists (Smith 29 assists); Lindenwood 22 assists (Brydels 16 assists).
Digs: Northern State 37 (Nygaard 11); Lindenwood 32 (Reichert 7).
Blocks: Northern State 5 (Biach 4); Lindenwood 8 (Sarah Makowski 4, Megan Dillon 4).
Records: Northern State 2-0; Lindenwood 0-2.
