ASHLAND, Ohio â€Â“ The first leg of the Northern Michigan University womenâ€Â™s volleyball teamâ€Â™s venture into Ohio did not start off wellon Saturday at Ashland.  NMU lost in three straight to the Eagles (22-30, 27-30and 29-31).  With the loss the â€Â˜Cats are now 10-8 overall and 7-3 in the GreatLakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).  Ashland improves to 18-6and 9-3 respectively.

Two NMU players had 10 or more kills for the match.  AndreaSmith led the way with 14 kills and Nicole Hintze added 10.  As a team theâ€Â˜Cats had 37 kills in 131 total attempts for a hitting percentage of .115. Rachel Martinez added 21 assists in the loss.

Defensively four â€Â˜Cats registered 10 or more digs for theafternoon.  Megan Elliot had a team-high 16 digs as she was followed by Hintzewith 14, Liz Kohn had 13 and Martinez added 11.  At the net the â€Â˜Cats did nothave a block solo, but Sara Keilman and Smith each had two block assists.

NMU will play at The University of Findlay tomorrow (Oct.16) for its second match of the trip.