HAMMOND, Ind. -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (1-0 GLIAC) started its season with a three-set sweep at Purdue Northwest (0-1 GLIAC) on Thursday night.  The Warriors won by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-22.  Dating back to the 2019 season, WSU has won eight of its last nine matches.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors started fast and led 4-0 early in the first set after two kills by redshirt junior Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) and two PNW attacking errors. WSU continued to seize the momentum and used a 5-0 run to increase its lead to 9-1.  Freshman Jenna Kray (Westerville, Ohio / Worthington Christian) announced her presence with back-to-back points.After another kill from Wagner, a block by Kray and redshirt junior Lauren VanderWal (Caledonia, Mich.) made it 11-2.  Purdue Northwest got back into the set with a 5-1 run, trimming its deficit to 13-7.  A service ace by junior Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) pushed the Green & Gold advantage to 17-11 and another combo block by Kray and VanderWal pushed the margin to 20-12.  The Pride cut the visitors lead to 21-15 but the Warriors would win 25-18 after kills from VanderWal and senior Julia Malewicz (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Academy for International Studies / Henry Ford II) down the stretch.

Duffield was distributing the touches nicely to start the second set as Kray, Wagner, VanderWal and sophomore Maddie Morrison (Flushing, Mich.) all recorded kills to give WSU a 6-2 lead.  Another kills from Morrison made it 9-4 but PNW responded and cut its deficit to 9-7 following three straight points.  A block by Wagner and redshirt sophomore Halle Shell (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) capped a 4-0 run by Wayne State to make it 13-7.  An ace from sophomore Maddy Benoit (Farmington, Mich. / Mercy) followed by a ball-handling error on the Pride gave the Warriors a 20-13 advantage.  Purdue Northwest pulled within three at 21-18, 22-19 and eventually made it 22-21.  A kill by Wagner gave WSU a 23-21 lead but PNW answered to make it 23-22.  Wagner continued to carry the offense and she collected another kill to put the score at 24-22 and VanderWal won the set with a kill of her own.

Wayne State scored the first four points of the third set.  A kill from Wagner made it 7-2 and another point by Morrison gave WSU a 10-3 advantage.  Wayne State's comfortable lead grew to 15-5 after a PNW error.  After Purdue Northwest trimmed its deficit to five, Wagner continued to have the hot hand and her kill gave WSU a 16-10 lead.  The Pride hung around and trailed 20-15 and eventually would force a Wayne State timeout after pulling within two, 22-20.  However, the Warriors answered the call and held on to win 25-22.

COACH KOTH'S THOUGHTS
"I am so very happy to see Wayne State Volleyball back on the court after 400-plus days.  They played with great passion tonight, but also looked a bit rusty.  Taylor and Lauren both had great offensive nights."

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Wagner hit .400 and finished with a match-high 15 kills, while VanderWal had 10 kills and also posted a .400 hitting percentage.  Duffield tallied 34 assists, while Benoit led the defense with 12 digs.  VanderWal and Kray both had five blocks.

ONE BIG THING
WSU hit .200 on the night compared to PNW's .028 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT
Wayne State and Purdue Northwest will meet again on Friday at 2:00 PM.