Purdue University Northwest Sports Update, October 27, 2016

PNW-Purdue-Northwest-Stuns-St-Francis-3-2Purdue Northwest Stuns St. Francis, 3-2 The Purdue University Northwest volleyball team defeated Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe St. Francis (Ill.) in a five-set thriller Wednesday night at the Fitness and Recreation Center.

The Pride (16-11, 8-5 CCAC) used a momentum filled fifth set to defeat the Fighting Saints (22-11, 11-3 CCAC) by scores of (19-25, 25-16, 25-19, 27-29,15-11).

Sophomore Jenna Pasko (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) led all attackers with a career-high 21 kills and a .354 attack percentage while registering 11 digs.

Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) recorded 18 kills and 11 digs and Cami Websiter (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) tallied 13 kills with a .300 attack percentage to lead the attackers for the Black and Gold.

Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) notched a career-high 56 assists while Casey Neulieb (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) led the Pride with 18 digs to headline the PNW leaders.

St. Francis would take a 1-0 lead after winning the first set 25-19, but the Black and Gold would fight back to win the next two sets and take a 2-1 advantage.

PNW would take a 13-5 lead early on in the fourth set, but the Fighting Saints battled back to even the score at 18-18.

USF would take its first lead of the set at 20-18, but the Pride would answer with a 5-0 run and take a 23-20 lead.

The Fighting Saints would refuse to quit, evening the set at 25-25, before coming back and taking the fourth set, 29-27.

St. Francis would start off the final set with a 6-3 lead, but the Black and Gold continued to battle and rattle off six straight points to take a 9-6 advantage.

USF would attempt a final come-back effort, but the Pride refused to let up, finishing strong with a 15-11 Set 5 victory to come away with the 3-2 win.

PNW returns to action Friday, Oct. 28, when they play Trinity International and Judson at the Judson CCAC Crossover. The Black and Gold face off with the Trojans at 3:15 p.m. (CT), before playing the host Eagles at 7:45 p.m. (CT).

Purdue Northwest Falls to Trinity Christian, 4-1 The Purdue University Northwest women’s soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision to Trinity Christian College Wednesday afternoon at Dowling Park.

Sophomore Shayna Coy (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers) put the Pride (5-11, 3-8 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) on the scoreboard first, as teammate Shelby Ross (Nashville, Ind,/Columbus North) delivered a cross to Coy who connected in front of the box in just the 3’.

But the visiting Trolls (9-5-3, 6-3-2) answered quickly, as Jessica Bianchi evened the score in the 10’ off a rebound on a blocked shot from Kayla Diemer. TCC would take the lead three minutes later, as Diemer scored this time on a pass from Bianchi.

Up 2-1 at the break, Trinity Christian would go on to add two more in the 65’ and 72' in a rainy contest to seal the road victory.

TCC outshot the Pride by a 21-6 margin, 12-2 on goal. Ross led PNW with four shots, one on goal, and Coy and freshman Alexa Vega (West Chicago, Ill./Community) accounted for the other two shots.

Lucie Ashmore (Greystones, Ireland/St. Gerard’s School) took the loss in goal for PNW, recording seven saves, while TCC’s Sierra Christopher got the win, stopping one shot.

Prior to the contest, PNW honored its lone senior, Iridiana Mendoza (West Chicago, Ill./Community). Mendoza leaves PNW as the program’s first four-year letter winner, as she’s logged over 4,000 minutes in 68 matches played.

Purdue Northwest will play its final regular season game this Saturday on the road, as the Pride will take on Calumet St. Joseph beginning at noon CT at East Chicago High School.