Northwest Missouri State Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Northern State University Wolves recorded a 3-0 victory over the Northwest Missouri State University volleyball squad Saturday morning at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Griffon Classic.
 
Northern State secured the match win by set scores of 25-20, 25-21, 25-13. The Wolves moved to 5-2 and the Bearcats evened their mark at 3-3.

Northwest finished with 31 kills and a .179 hitting percentage, while the Wolves totaled 47 kills and hit .406.

Northwest could not overcome the Wolves' mid-set separation in the opening set, though it answered with service aces from Ellery Luhring, Mya Karrick, Jada Smith and Maddie Roenfeld. Earlier, Sophia Gartner tied the set at 1-1 with a kill from Karrick, Gabrielle Gartner and Smith added Karrick-assisted kills, and Luhring's ace helped Northwest move in front 5-3. NSU then scored five straight points to go ahead 8-5 and later stretched the score to 12-6, but Karrick served consecutive aces and Abby Bulthuis added a kill from Karrick as Northwest kept working back. Smith's ace and another Bulthuis kill were part of a four-point stretch that brought Northwest within 21-17, and after the Wolves reached 24-17, Roenfeld delivered a kill and an ace before a Chloee Hayes-Karrick block cut the deficit to 24-20; NSU took the set 25-20 on the next point.

Northwest got back even at 20-20 on a Gabrielle Gartner kill from Karrick before the Wolves created separation in the closing points. Earlier, Northwest opened with kills from Bulthuis and Gartner off Karrick assists, and Lauren Schnettler's serve rotation helped the home side move ahead 4-1. Jada Smith added an ace and Karrick followed with a kill to make it 9-5, and Karrick later served an ace before Hayes' kill gave Northwest a 13-8 margin. Roenfeld put down a kill for a 17-16 lead after NSU had drawn even, and a Wolves service error with Bulthuis kill moved Northwest back in front 19-18; after the 20-20 tie, NSU scored four straight points and finished the set 25-21 on Cara Cyr's kill.

Northwest could not close the gap after the Wolves built separation, dropping the third set 25-13. Earlier, Gabrielle Gartner and Jada Smith converted Karrick sets, and Londyn Smith followed with an ace to bring Northwest to 6-4 after an early deficit. Roenfeld and Bulthuis added kills during the middle stretch, but NSU held a 15-8 score after a Linnea Nesheim kill. Northwest cut it to 16-11 on consecutive kills by Gartner and Smith, but the Wolves answered with four straight points and later reached 24-12 on a Victoria Persha ace. Roenfeld and Grace Thorne combined on a block for Northwest's final point before Lydia Nelson's kill ended the set.

Gabrielle Gartner led Northwest with 10 kills and added four digs. Gartner recorded her fourth double-figure kill match this season. It is the 15th time in her Bearcat career that she has reached 10 or more kills in a match. Karrick finished with 23 assists, three service aces and six digs. Lily Zimmerman collected 13 digs, while Roenfeld recorded six kills on .429 hitting with one ace and one block assist.

Up next, Northwest will face Oklahoma Christian later today at 4 p.m. in St. Joseph.