Indians drop instant classic at Northwest

SENATOBIA, Miss. – The Indians dropped an instant classic, 3-2, at Northwest on Friday.

The Indians (15-9) jumped out to an 8-2 advantage in the opening set and eventually pulled ahead by 10 points before cruising to the a 25-15 win in the opening set.

The Rangers (13-13) pulled even with a dominate 25-12 win in the second set. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the third set before the Indians pulled ahead 22-16 and held off a rally by the Rangers to pick up a 25-19 win.

Northwest forced the match into the fifth set with a 29-27 win in the fourth set. Both teams held a four-point advantage in the set before the Rangers forced a timeout by ICC when went up 23-20. The Indians answered with a 2-0 run and eventually pulled even at 24-24 before the Rangers picked up the win.

The Rangers jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the fifth set, but the Indians rallied to pull even at 5-5 and force a Northwest timeout. The Rangers pulled ahead by two, but a substitution violation made it a 7-6 contest in favor of Northwest. The Indians answered with a 3-2 run to tie the match at 9-9 and the two teams would trade points until the Rangers were able took advantage of an Indian error to eventually earn the 18-16 win in the final set.

Kailynn Johnson had 17 kills while Aubrey Swanson added 13 and Sarah Allyn Thornell had 11 for the Indians. Thornell surpassed Mary Leslie Cranford's career kills record at the 403 mark. She also added 36 assists in the match.

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