Despite 16 kills from Allison Lakin, the Maryville volleyball team dropped its opening match at the 2016 Mizuno Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill., to Northern Michigan. The Saints won the first set but NMU rallied to win by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-22. The Saints play Davis & Elkins later Friday night.
 
The Saints survived the Wildcats' best hitting mark of the match as NMU hit at a .485 but the Saints prevailed. The set was tied at 22 before an NMU error and Lakin kill pushed the Saints to set point at 24-22. The Wildcats saved one but an NMU service error gave the Saints the 25-23 win.  The Saints were down late in two set before kills by Emma Basler, Ashley Selman and a hitting error by NMU pulled Maryville to 23-19. However, the Wildcats held on.
 
Northern Michigan used an 8-0 run midway thru set three to take charge, while the Saints suffered their lowest hitting percentage of the match. In the final set, the Saints jumped to a 7-3 lead after four straight points. Maryville still led 10-5 after a Zoe Zeiter kill and 15-10 when Lakin put down a ball. But NMU tied the match at 15-all. The teams traded runs from there out. Saints went back up by three but NMU scored five straight. The Saints answered with a 4-0 burst but the Wildcats scored five straight to end the contest.
 
Maggie Murphy had a match-high 25 digs, while Michelle Escue served three aces and added 16 assists.