HAMMOND, Ind. – Purdue Northwest edged Drury volleyball by the slimmest of margins (20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 13-15), pulling out a two-point decision in the fifth set to stop the Panthers' three-match win streak Friday evening on the opening day of competition at the Midwest Region Crossover at Hammond Sportsplex.

Twice the Panthers (11-7) wiped out one-set deficits to ultimately force a deciding fifth set, powered by 17 kills apiece from Mailie Chretien and Ella Rademaker, .625 hitting and a career-high 15 kills from Skylar Hilton and a Drury season-high 49 assists by Lauren Tyler.

But the Pride (9-7) managed to hold off the Panthers, overcomnig a late two-point deficit by winning six of the last eight points to pull out a 15-13 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Purdue Northwest won the first four points of the opening set and never looked back, extending its lead to as many as eight points over the Panthers en route to a 25-20 decision.
• Drury bounced back in the second, however, taking control with a 7-4 spurt to gain the lead.
• The Pride would fight back, pulling even at 18-18 via a 10-6 run, but the Panthers responded by winning seven of the final 10 points for a 25-21 win.
• The two clubs traded blows throughout the third set, with Purdue Northwest leading by just one point before winning seven of the next eight points to build an 18-11 advantage.
• DU fought back, slicing the deficit to five points, but got no closer in the eventual 25-19 Pride victory.
• The fourth set followed a similar pattern, with the teams evenly splitting the first 18 points before Drury won five of the next six points to establish a 14-10 margin.
• Purdue Northwest had a response, utilizing a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead.
• The two clubs played to a 21-20 count before the Panthers won four straight points, getting kills from Chretien and Hilton, as well as a service ace from Chaney Barth to seal the 25-21 win.
• Drury held an 11-9 lead in the fifth following Hilton's 15th kill of the night, but the Price rallied to take six of the next eight points to seal the victory.

NOTABLES

• Tyler, who matched her own Drury single-match record for hitting percentage (.909) in Friday's first match, once again fueled a strong offensive showing by the Panthers with her 49 assists, six kills and three service aces.
• Both Tyler (49 assists/13 digs) and Chretien (17 kills/18 digs) turned in double-doubles to pace the Panther attack; Chretien added a pair of service aces for the Panthers, who recorded nine aces as a team.
• Hilton topped her previous career high for kills (12 at SBU, Oct. 9, 2025) with 15, concluding a day in which the freshman logged 22 kills without an error in 36 attempts over the Panthers' two contests.
• DU's three-match win streak ended with the setback, as did their four-match win streak in the Midwest Region Crossover, dating back to last season's 3-0 performance at the event.

UP NEXT
Drury concludes its stay at the Midwest Region Crossover Saturday morning with an 11:30 a.m. contest against Northwood.

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