MIDLAND, Mich. -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (11-8 overall, 6-5 GLIAC) and Northwood (6-13 overall, 3-8 GLIAC) met on Saturday afternoon and the Warriors were up 2-0 before NU tied the match at 2-2.  Wayne State would win the fifth set 15-12 to hold on for a weekend split.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A kill from Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central) gave WSU an early 4-2 lead in the opening set.  The Warriors led 10-8 after a kill from Julia Malewicz (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Academy of International Studies / Henry Ford II) and another point from the sophomore hitter pushed the visitors lead to 16-10.  Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) extended the lead to 21-12 with a kill and the Green & Gold would win the first set 25-14.

The second set was tied at 6-6 but an Olivia Fike (North Branch, Mich.) kill gave the Warriors a 7-6 lead.  Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. / Huron) kept WSU's one-point lead in tact at 12-11 before tying the set at 17-17 with another kill.  The game was tied at 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23 before back-to-back kills from Fike gave Wayne State a 2-0 match lead with a 25-23 victory.

WSU led 4-3 to open the third set after a poor NU set.  The game was tied at 11-11 before a point from Krenz gave the Green & Gold a 16-14 advantage.  A service ace from Richardson and another point from Krenz kept the Warriors on top 19-16.  Grace Frazee (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Christian) made it 22-20 before the Timberwolves tied the set with back-to-back WSU attacking errors.  Wayne State led 23-22 but NU would win the final three points and win 25-23 to avoid the sweep.

Richardson's 10th kill of the game gave WSU a 3-0 lead to start the fourth set but Northwood won the next six points, taking a 6-3 lead.  An ace from Duffield and a kill by Krenz tied the game at 6-6.  Consecutive points by Fike gave the Warriors a 12-10 lead and WSU a NU attacking error made it 14-11 in favor of the visitors. Wayne State's lead grew to 18-13 after a kill from Frazee but NU would storm back to tie the set at 24-24 and force a fifth set by winning 26-24.

The Warriors trailed the fifth and deciding set 5-3 after a point from Frazee and it was tied at 7-7 following a NU attack error.  Another T-Wolves error made it 10-9 Warriors.  A kill from Richardson gave WSU a 12-10 lead before another kill and service ace from Richardson sealed the win for Wayne State, 15-12.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Richardson tallied 17 kills, while Fike had 16 and Frazee chipped in 12 kills.  Duffield dished out 50 assists.  Ellie Rodriguez (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central) led the defense with 24 digs, while Haley Tenelshof (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Jenison) had 17 digs.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play three matches at the Midwest Regional Crossover in Indianapolis on Friday and Saturday.  The matchups will be announced on Sunday evening.