Highlights vs. NCMC // Highlights vs. Alpena
PETOSKEY, Mich. – Macomb Volleyball dropped a five-set thriller and later cruised to a three-set sweep to split Friday's (Aug. 25) action at the Buffalo Wild Wings and Corktown Pizza Quad hosted by North Central Michigan College. Friday's split shifted the Monarchs' record to 2-1 on the young season.
North Central Michigan 3, Macomb 2 (25-12, 14-25, 25-18, 21-25, 13-15)
So close! The Monarchs were edged in Friday's opener by the host Timberwolves in a thrilling, back-and-forth marathon match. The Monarchs dominated action early with a 25-12 first set win behind a .485 hitting percentage with 16 kills and no errors. The teams would split the next two sets to give the Monarchs a 2-1 lead, but it was the Timberwolves who made enough plays down the stretch to earn a narrow 3-2 win in five sets.
Three Monarchs posted double-digit kills as
Mallory Cardinale (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley) led the charge with a new career-high 14 kills.
Adeline Tresnak (Dryden, Mich./Dryden) followed with 12 kills, also a career-high, while
Chante Hudgins (Warren, Mich./Lincoln) checked in with a career-high-tying 10 kills.
Paige Elliott (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Country Day) assisted on 47 of the team's 51 kills and added 10 digs and three kills as part of a balanced performance.
Defensively, the Monarchs were anchored by
Becca Weiss (Dryden, Mich./Dryden) who tallied a career-best 29 digs. Cardinale and
Nikole Nikolova (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II) added 14 digs each to round out the top performers in the five-set contest.
Macomb 3, Alpena 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-14)
The Monarchs bounced back from their loss to start the day to win in convincing fashion, defeating Alpena Community College in straight sets (25-22, 25-15 and 25-14). With the win, the Monarchs have now won 12 straight versus Alpena and have won 21 out of the past 22 matches with the Lumberjacks dating back to the 2012 season.
Chante Hudgins remained steady throughout the day and led the Monarchs in the Alpena victory with 10 kills.
Mallory Cardinale and
Hadley Schaefer (Harrison Twp., Mich./Parkway Christian) followed with eight and six kills, respectively, with Schaefer posting a team-leading .750 hitting percentage.
Schaefer also led the block department with six block assists, while
Grace Amoe (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) and Hudgins notched four block assists each.
Nikole Nikolova put on the libero jersey for the first time at the collegiate level and equaled her total from match one with 14 digs against Alpena. Nikolova was joined in double-figure digs by
Paige Elliott and
Lexi Pogasic (Washington Twp., Mich./Romeo) with 11 each and Cardinale chimed in with 10 digs of her own.
Elliott also tallied 31 assists in the win to bring her season total to 106 through three matches.
Up Next: Home Opener Thursday!
Come out to the Macomb Sports & Expo Center for the 2023 home opener on Thursday (Aug. 31) against Madonna University JV. The home opener is slated for a 7 p.m. first serve in Warren with live stream coverage available on MacombMonarchs.com/Watch. Weekly game notes will be posted Tuesday afternoon on MacombMonarchs.com.
