DEFIANCE, Ohio — Indiana University Northwest volleyball split a pair of matches Friday at the Defiance Trimatch, dropping a four-set decision to host Defiance College before rebounding with a sweep of Ohio Christian in the nightcap.
Game 1: Defiance rallies past RedHawks in four
IU Northwest came out strong in the opener, with Gabi Lilovich and Kaelan Murphy trading kills to build an early cushion. Defiance chipped away behind Chaney Brodbeck and Gabby Rodriguez, but the RedHawks held firm, closing out the set 25-20 to take an early 1-0 match lead.
Defiance answered in the second, riding a service run from Addison Martinez and a string of kills from Brodbeck to seize control. IU Northwest tried to claw back late behind Trinitie Lintner and Amie Schutz, but couldn't finish the rally, dropping the set 25-19 to even the match.
The Yellow Jackets carried that momentum into the third, closing the set on a decisive run — Shelby Clements and Brodbeck combining for a stretch of kills that put the set out of reach. IU Northwest never found its footing, falling 25-16 to fall behind 2-1.
The RedHawks tried to force a fifth in the fourth, getting production from Lindsey Krueger and Murphy to stay within range for much of the set. But Defiance's depth wore IU Northwest down, and the Yellow Jackets closed out the match with a 25-20 win to take the set and the match, 3-1.
Lilovich led the RedHawks with 11 kills and 18 assists for 13.0 points, while Murphy added 11 kills and 12.5 points. Lintner hit .429 with eight kills, and Schutz chipped in six kills.
Game 2: RedHawks sweep Ohio Christian
IU Northwest flipped the script in the nightcap against Ohio Christian. The RedHawks trailed early in the first set, but Kaelan Murphy sparked a run, and Abby Allen came off the bench to string together points behind the service line. Ohio Christian answered late to make it close, but Gabi Lilovich closed the set with a kill off a Cougar blocking error, sealing a 25-20 win.
Ohio Christian jumped ahead early in the second, but the RedHawks answered behind Lilovich, who put together a stretch of forced errors and a service ace to flip the set in IU Northwest's favor. Murphy took over from there, stringing together kills to help the RedHawks pull away for a 25-17 win and a 2-0 match lead.
The RedHawks opened the third with a Lilovich service run — two aces sandwiched around a kill — to jump out early, and although Ohio Christian battled to stay within reach, Amie Schutz and Raniyah Preston kept answering with kills. Addison Clark added a late service ace off the bench, and IU Northwest closed out the sweep, 25-19.
Schutz led IU Northwest with eight kills and 8.0 points, while Lilovich added six kills, 11 assists, three service aces and 10.0 points. Preston recorded five kills and 11 assists, and Murphy chipped in five kills.
IU Northwest continues conference play on the road Sept. 22 at Governors State in University Park, Ill., with first serve set for 7 p.m.
