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Wayne State University Athletics

Alexa Withun
Alexa Withun had 10 kills and three blocks on Friday night.
3
Winner Wayne State WSU 7-2,1-0 GLIAC
2
Purdue Northwest PNW 5-4,0-1 GLIAC
Winner
Wayne State WSU
7-2,1-0 GLIAC
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Final
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Purdue Northwest PNW
5-4,0-1 GLIAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Wayne State WSU 25 21 25 25 15 (3)
Purdue Northwest PNW 21 25 27 18 12 (2)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant Media Relations Director

Volleyball Wins Battle at Purdue Northwest

The Warriors trailed 2-1 but came back to win in five sets.

WESTVILLE, Ind. -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (7-2, 1-0 GLIAC) won its GLIAC opener in five sets at Purdue Northwest (5-4, 0-1 GLIAC) on Friday night.  WSU won the first set 25-21 before falling behind, losing set two 25-21 and set three 27-25.  However, the Green & Gold overcame a strong Pride team to win the fourth set 25-18 and won the fifth and final game, 15-12.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.) was impressive all night long and gave WSU an early 4-3 lead in the opening set.  A point from Alex Withun (Troy, Mich. / Athens) tied the game at 10-10 before two kills by Lauren VanderWal (Caledonia, Mich.) pushed the Warriors ahead 13-12.  Wayne State held onto 17-14 and 19-16 advantages.  PNW trimmed its deficit to one, 20-19, but WSU won five of the last seven points to capture the first set.  Maddie Morrison (Flushing, Mich.) and VanderWal both had two kills down the stretch.

The Green & Gold led the second set 7-3 and 9-6.  A 5-0 run by the Pride gave the home team an 11-9 lead before WSU won the next five points to make it 14-11.  The teams traded punches but Wayne State was able to stay in front, 19-18, following a spike by VanderWal.  The Warriors faltered late in the set, allowing PNW to win 25-21.

The third set was very tight throughout and a point by Halle Shell (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) made it 7-7.  The game remained dead locked at 10-10 after a Withun kill but Purdue Northwest would jump out to a 15-10 lead.  Trailing 24-19, the Warriors made it interesting by winning six consecutive points and taking a 25-24 advantage.  The Pride took the final three points to win the thriller, 27-25.

WSU was on a mission in the fourth set and led 10-6 and 15-7.  A point by Giroux made it 16-9 and back-to-back PNW errors pushed the Warriors in front 23-14.  Wayne State forced a fifth set by winning 25-18.

The fifth set started with Wayne State up 5-2.  Two straight kills by Giroux made it 8-3 before Purdue Northwest pulled back within two, 8-6.  WSU would go on to lead 13-8 but the Pride would trim their deficit to one, 13-12.  A kill from Shell paired with an error by PNW gave the Green & Gold a 15-12 victory and a 3-2 match win.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
VanderWal had 18 kills and 10 digs to pace the WSU offense, while Giroux posted a standout performance with 17 kills, while hitting .500 and tallying eight blocks.  Withun tallied 10 kills.  Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) finished with 47 assist and 14 digs, while Maddy Benoit (Farmington, Mich. / Mercy) notched a team-best 15 digs.

ONE BIG THING
WSU's defense loomed large all night, recording 23 blocks to PNW's nine.

FROM COACH KOTH
"We were very fortunate to win tonight against a very game PNW squad.  This is the way the GLIAC will be all season...buckle your seatbelts! Outstanding performance by Kayla Giroux tonight!"
UP NEXT
Wayne State will return to the Matthaei on Sunday afternoon for a matchup with Ferris State at 4:00 PM.
 
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