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 Nicole Jackson had 10 kills and no errors Friday night. |
Nov. 4, 2005
DETROIT - The Wayne State University volleyball team (14-9, 6-9 GLIAC) came storming out of the gates against Northern Michigan (14-10, 11-5 GLIAC) Friday night to win the first game, 30-17, but lost the next three (30-28, 30-22, 30-12) to lose for the fifth time in the last six matches this season. Despite the loss, the Warriors can clinch the eighth and final GLIAC Tournament spot by winning one of their two remaining matches versus Mercyhurst (Saturday) and Gannon (Sunday).
WSU took an early 9-4 lead in game one thanks to great play by Elisa Joris (Walled Lake, Mich./Western) and Kerri Royer (Lawton, Mich./Kalamazoo Central). The seniors had a sequence of kills, aces and blocks that forced NMU to call a timeout. After the break, the Warriors rattled off four straight points for a 13-4 lead. They continued to push the lead to 13 points (24-11) after a Joris kill and service ace that landed in the back corner of the Wildcats' court, then won the game on an NMU service into the net.
Wayne State totaled 15 kills and just two errors in the first game while holding Northern to a negative hitting percentage (-.022).
The second game was nip-and-tuck throughout, with neither team leading more than four points. Back-to-back Holly Soldenski (Warren, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) kills tied the game at 20. After NMU went up by two, Joris' fourth ace of the match evened the score at 25 apiece. Another tie (28-28) came on Nicole Jackson's (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) kill, but Northern Michigan scored the final two points to equal the match score.
NMU recorded an attack percentage above .300 the final two games while holding WSU to .152 in the third game and -.154 in the final game to escape with the win.
Joris had a team-high 14 kills along with 10 digs and six blocks for a double-double. Royer also had a double-double with a match-high 44 assists and 13 digs. Jackson recorded a match-leading .455 hitting percentage as she had 10 kills and zero errors in 22 attempts.
The Warriors' final regular-season matches are set to start at 1:00 p.m. with Saturday being designated as Senior Day.
