HAMMOND, Ind. – Drury volleyball hit better than .300 in all four sets against Northwood Saturday, overcoming an early deficit to sweep the final three sets for a 3-1 victory (19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-13) over the Timberwolves at the Midwest Region Crossover at Hammond Sportsplex.
After the Timberwolves claimed the opening set, Drury (12-7) rode strong performances by Ella Rademaker (17 kills), Abby Renshaw (12 kills) and Mailie Chretien (11 kills/16 digs), as part of a consistent attack that registered a .331 hitting percentage for the match. Lauren Tyler completed a dominant weekend with her third straight 35+ assist effort, tallying a match-high 46 helpers.
DU's victory secured a 2-1 finish for the Panthers at the Midwest Region Crossover, as well as their fourth win in their last five outings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Northwood never trailed in the opening set, establishing an early three-point cushion that the Timberwolves extended to as many as six later in the stanza.
- Drury closed the gap to within 11-10, but the Timberwolves closed out the set on a 14-9 run and hit .442 to take a 1-0 lead.
- The Panthers leveled the score with a come-from-behind win in the second, as DU overcame another early Northwood lead with the help of a 9-2 scoring run.
- Skylar Hilton delivered a pair of blocks and four different Panthers registered kills during the run.
- DU extended its lead to 15-9 on one of Rademaker's five second-set kills, then put the set away by winning three of the final four points after Northwood closed the gap to 22-19.
- The Panthers kept their momentum rolling into the third set, using an 11-6 run to seize control after the two clubs evenly split the first 12 points of the stanza.
- Rademaker and Hilton led DU with two kills apiece during the critical run, and Renshaw also came through with four kills on .667 hitting in the third.
- After falling behind early in the fourth, the Panthers once again cranked their offense into high gear, winning six of seven points to take control for good.
- DU would ice the set -- and the match -- with a 17-5 surge to punctuate the victory.
- Chretien fueled the late run with four kills and a service ace, while Rademaker matched her offensive output with four kills of her own to help DU hit .393 in the fourth.
NOTABLES
- Tyler concluded the tournament with 130 assists in the Panthers' three matches, running her DU career total to 2,143, which ranks 10th all-time in Drury history.
- Chretien led the Panthers with 48 kills (4.00 per set) for the tournament, hitting .284 with 43 digs (3.58) and four blocks.
- The double-double for Chretien was her team-leading fourth of the season and her second in a row following Friday night's 17-kill, 18-dig effort vs. Purdue Northwest.
- HIlton delivered another strong performance, finishing with 10 kills on a team-best .529 hitting percentage and five blocks; the freshman has recorded four of her five double-digit kill performances in the Panthers' last seven outings (since Sept. 27).
- Renshaw topped her career best for kills for the second consecutive match with 12, hitting .476 for the contest.
- Drury improved to 22-11 in the Midwest Region Crossover under head coach Jenifer Bahner-Hill (since 2014) and 31-19 overall in the event.
- This season marked the 12th time in the Panthers' last 15 appearances they have won at least two of their three matches at the Midwest Region Crossover.
UP NEXT
Drury returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center Tuesday (Oct. 21) to open a three-match home stand with a 6 p.m., non-conference tilt against Missouri Southern.
For all the latest information on Drury volleyball, visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.
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