MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team breezed to a 3-0 sweep of the Northeastern State University RiverHawks Friday at Bearcat Arena.
Northwest won the MIAA match by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-17. The Bearcats improved to 8-14 overall and 5-4 in MIAA action. The RiverHawks fell to 1-22 overall and 0-9 in league matches. The RiverHawks have lost 15 straight matches after tonight's win for the Bearcats.
Abby Bulthuis paced the Bearcat offense with 13 kills and hit .367 for her seventh double-figure kill match of the season.
Mya Karrick collected her team-leading 14th double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs.
Ellery Luhring delivered a match-high 25 digs, including 10 in the opening set to guide the Bearcats. It is the ninth 20-plus dig match this season for Luhring. Luhring is averaging 22.5 digs per match in her last six contests.
Chloee Hayes posted nine kills on a .389 hitting percentage and added three block assists.
Northwest finished with 49 kills and a .292 hitting percentage, compared with 31 kills and a .116 percentage for NSU.
The Bearcats built an early 6-1 lead and went on to win the first set 25-16.
Lily Zimmerman served through a four-point stretch from 2-1 to 6-1, with
Gabrielle Gartner putting down back-to-back kills,
Maddie Roenfeld adding another and Roenfeld combining with
Abby Bulthuis on a block. After the RiverHawks worked back to 7-5, Northwest answered with Bulthuis at the net, as she delivered three kills and teamed with
Chloee Hayes on a block during a push to 11-5. NSU later got within 15-12, but the Bearcats scored the next three points on a service error and kills by Roenfeld and
Sophia Gartner before late kills from Bulthuis and Hayes helped close the set at 25-16.
Northwest broke open the second set with a seven-of-eight stretch that moved the score from 14-11 to 21-12, getting kills from Bulthuis, Hayes and
Elle Heckenlively during the run. Earlier, after falling behind 3-2, the Bearcats moved in front behind consecutive points from
Gabrielle Gartner and later used a
Londyn Smith service ace and Bulthuis kill to go up 8-4. Hayes and Heckenlively combined on a block for a 9-5 edge,
Sophia Gartner and Roenfeld teamed for another block at 11-8, and a
Gabrielle Gartner kill from
Sophia Gartner pushed Northwest to 12-8 before NSU stayed within 13-11. The Bearcats closed the set with kills from Hayes, Heckenlively and
Gabrielle Gartner, with Gartner's kill from
Mya Karrick finishing a 25-16 set win.
Northwest used
Lauren Schnettler's serve to turn a 10-5 lead into a 14-5 cushion, with Schnettler recording two aces around kills from
Sophia Gartner and Hayes. Earlier, Karrick opened the set with two service aces and assisted
Gabrielle Gartner on a kill as the Bearcats built a 3-0 start, then Zimmerman added an ace during another early push to 7-2. NSU worked back within 16-13, but Northwest answered with kills from Roenfeld, Bulthuis and Hayes to keep separation. The Bearcats won five of the final seven points, closing the 25-17 set on
Elle Heckenlively's kill from
Londyn Smith.
Northwest will celebrate Senior Night Saturday against Arkansas-Fort Smith at 7 p.m. in Bearcat Arena. Anyone purchasing a football ticket for the Emporia State game at 2 p.m. will receive free admission to the volleyball match tomorrow night. The Bearcats will honor three Bearcats players (
Mya Karrick,
Gabrielle Gartner,
Sophia Gartner) and two coaches (
Connie LeBel,
Riley Walters) prior to the match with the Lions.
