Wolves fall to Northwood (Mich.) in Eckerd Classic opener

Box Score

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Newberry Wolves volleyball team started off well, but Northwood (Mich.) won three straight sets as the Timberwolves took a 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-13) win in the opener of the Eckerd Classic at the McArthur Center on Friday afternoon.

With the loss, Newberry sees its season-opening winning streak halted at five matches. The scarlet and gray's record stands at 5-1 entering a 7:30 p.m. matchup with No. 22 Eckerd.

Chelsea Mayor (Sugar Land, Texas) led the Wolves with a .545 hitting percentage, notching seven kills and only one error on 11 attempts. Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) earned team highs with nine kills and nine digs, while Rachel Moran (Cypress, Texas) and Elayni Stokes (Houston, Texas) also had nine digs.

Mayor and Lauren Prachar (Fort Wayne, Ind.) each had seven kills, while Jessica King (Los Angeles, Calif.) had six kills. Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) dished out 15 assists and Moran handed out 12 assists.

Newberry won the first set with a great comeback effort. After taking a 16-12 lead, Newberry saw Northwood rattle off eight consecutive points to take a 20-16 lead. The Wolves scored nine of the last 12 points in the set thanks to Northwood errors to take the lead. Mayor had four kills on five attempts in the set, with King and Prachar each tallying three kills as the Wolves hit .257 in the set.

The hitting went downhill in the second set, as Newberry hit .038 with six errors and Northwood hit .407 with 14 kills and only three errors in the set to tie the match up. Newberry rebounded by hitting. 304 in the third set to Northwood's .267, with Parrish notching four kills. However, Newberry had a season-low five digs in the set and the Timberwolves had four aces to make the difference in the 25-21 set.

Two huge runs in the fourth set by Northwood combined with Newberry's .000 hitting percentage brought the match to an end. The Timberwolves hit .400 in the set.

For the match, Northwood outhit Newberry .267 to .153 with 11 aces to Newberry's three.