Overturned call in fifth set kept Wildcats in the match
HOUGHTON, Mich. – On the eve of Halloween, fans at the SDC Gym were treated to a nail-biting, back-and-forth affair between Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech volleyball, with the Wildcats outlasting the Huskies in a five-set thriller: 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 17-25, and 20-18.
At match-point Michigan Tech leading 14-13, it appeared the Huskies were victorious as a Jacqueline Smith attack attempt in front of MTU’s bench was initially called out of bounds. The band queued up the fight song, the Huskies celebrated on the court, and the Tech faithful were on their feet.
Until Mike Lozier pulled out the challenge card.
After a lengthy review, the ball did indeed land within the lines, reversing the call and evening the match at 14’s. Northern would face three more match points, but responded each time, before getting their second crack at ending it with a 19-18 lead.
So who do you go to? Your program’s all-time kills leader Jacqueline Smith, of course.
Smith whistled an attack attempt over the net that was too hot to handle for Tech, resulting in the game-winner on her 28th kill of the match.
“I truly do not have words for what just happened,” said Mike Lozier following the victory. “I am so proud of this team. It was ugly through the first four sets, but that 5th set will go down as one of my all-time favorites. Obviously Jacqui was incredible, but I do want to point out the two digs Julia Bouma got down the stretch. Those gave us the opportunities to score points in transition. What a great day to be a Wildcat!”
Smith’s 28th and final kill gave her a new career-high, surpassing the 27 she recorded earlier this season against Truman State. She’s now hit 175 kills in 12 career matches (14.6 kills/match) against the Huskies. It wasn’t just about the offense for Smith, however, as she also recorded a career high 19 digs to go along with two aces and 1.5 blocks.
“Rivalry games are always the best!” Smith commented. “I’m so proud of my team and how we showed up today ready to play. For the seniors, it was more special as it was our last time playing in the Tech gym and it feels great leaving on a win!”
The night of Halloween eve was a near-perfect setting for such a wild match, as the various milestones and career-highs felt like the variety you’d hope to find in your trick-or-treat basket.
In addition to Smith’s two career-highs, Meghan Meyer reached 1,000 career kills and Caylie Barlage reached 1,000 career digs in the match. Allie Barlow was handing out the full-sized candy bars you’d hope to get on Halloween night with a career-high 62 assists, a high-point in the GLIAC this season. Two other Wildcats had career-performances on the back line, with Liesl Haugen reaching 31 digs and Julia Bouma digging up 15 herself. NMU’s 97 team digs are a new pinnacle within the conference this season.
NMU’s 73 kills also mark a new conference best. Meyer reached double-digit kills with 11 on a .524 hitting clip while Kaysie Bakke, McKenzie Gruner, and Helen Beiring all notched 8+ kills as well.
The night started with a kill from Smith. It was a sign of things to come, albeit a peculiar one, as the team to get the first point in each set would end up losing it. Tech rattled off four straight at mid-set in the opening frame to lead 14-10, and didn’t look back for a 25-19 win. Haugen was a defensive stalwart with 10 digs in the set, a number you rarely see. NMU had 11 kills in the first from five players, led by Smith’s four.
A long rally to start set two went the way of the home team, but a dominant 9-0 run in the middle of the set from the ‘Cats flipped the score from trailing 6-4 to leading 13-6. Meyer and Smith each notched kills to trigger set point, and Smith rejected an attack to secure the second, 25-15. NMU held Tech to a .000 hitting percentage while getting 14 kills from six players, led by five from Jacqui.
Northern continued to push in the third, highlighted by a 7-0 run to go ahead 19-14. For the second straight set, a block secured the win, with Helen Beiring stepping in front of an attack attempt and rejecting it back onto the hardwood. NMU had 15 kills from five players, again led by Smith with six.
In the fourth, Meyer recorded back-to-back kills to reach the 1K plateau and tie the match at 7-7. The Huskies started to pull away and ultimately secured it 25-17 to force the pivotal fifth set. Northern hit a respectable .273, but couldn’t overcome MTU’s .452.
Then came the thrilling fifth set. Barlage picked up her 1,000th career dig early on, but the Huskies led 8-6 as the teams switched sides.
Bakke smacked consecutive kills to even the score and would get another after a Tech point to keep it even. The Huskies scored two straight to lead 11-9, but two Meghan Meyer kills, shortly followed by another from Smith evened the score at a dozen aside.
Tech’s first match point came at 14-13, with the overturned call keeping the ‘Cats alive. The Huskies had three more chances to put it away, but they were each erased by a Gruner kill, a Meyer kill, and a Barlage kill.
With the score tied at 18’s, an extended rally was kept alive with two crucial digs from Bouma that would lead to a Meyer kill and match point for the Green and Gold. With it all on the line, NMU executed a dig-set-kill from Barlow to Haugen to Smith for the exhilarating win.
Northern has now won the last four regular season meetings with its rival. The Wildcats improved to 14-7, 8-3 with the win while the Huskies fell to 11-10, 5-6.
Up Next
Northern Michigan will return home for its final home weekend this regular season, hosting Purdue Northwest on Friday, November 1 and Parkside on Senior Day Saturday, November 2. Both matches will start at 4 p.m.
