On Tuesday, September 28, the Northland International University ladies’ volleyball team
traveled to Houghton, Michigan, for a tri-match with UW-Superior and Finlandia
University. The first match for the visitors was UW-Superior, which is a strong
scholarship-type program with scholarship-quality players. The Pioneers lost
in four by scores of 12–25, 14–25, 26–24, and 16–25. Brittany Scott had 10 kills out
of 35 attempts, and Ellie Hodak had 10 kills on 32 attempts. Beth Leeds chipped
in with 7 kills on 25 swings. Abi Walker had 19 assists.
The second match of the evening was
against the home Lions of Finlandia. Coach Herron tried to exhort the team with
a work-hard attitude. “Nothing good comes from a halfhearted, complacent
effort. Finlandia has a quality player who plays with a drive and
passion that makes her teammates successful. I hoped my team would pull
together and play as a cohesive unit.” The Pioneers battled the Lions for five
sets before losing 19–25, 25–16, 23–25, 25–21, and 9–15. The Pioneers had two
defensive specialists that decided not to make the trip. This changed the
substitution pattern and put the rotation order at risk. Abi Walker commented,
“This was a match we could have . . . should have won.” Brittany Scott had 15 kills
on 44 swings; Ellie Hodak contributed 12 kills on 36 attempts. Beth Leeds had 5
kills on 24 attempts. Brittany Cournoyer added 12 digs and 8 kills.
“We are struggling some right now
and are playing quality teams; therefore, we need to persevere and find a way to be
successful. My responsibility is to help the players improve in practice, and
the players must take the responsibility for their play on court,” summarized
Coach Herron. The Northland team travels to UW-Marathon for a Thursday evening match on
September 31 and then on to Minneapolis where they will play in the North Central Region Challenge at North Central University against Providence, Faith, North Central,
and Trinity on Friday and Saturday, October 1–2.