Kaylie McIntosh leads Wildcats with 19 kills
HAYWARD, Calif. – In a five-set match that lasted just a few minutes under three hours, the Northern Michigan volleyball team pulled out a thrilling victory in extra points over the Cal State East Bay (CSUEB) Pioneers to open the weekend on the West Coast.
Northern held three match points in the final set, with the Pioneers responding to each of the first two. Tied at 15, freshman Laynie Russell stepped into her ninth kill of the match to reach a third attempt to end it. She wasn’t finished there, following it up with a block alongside Allie Barlow to seal the chaotic victory.
It was just the final showing of NMU’s perseverance throughout the match. The Wildcats faced late deficits in each of the first four frames, and in the first and third, the Wildcats closed the set with five straight points after trailing 23-20. Cal State was victorious in the second (25-20) and fourth (25-19).
NMU jumped out of the gates 10-5 in the fifth, but the Pioneers pushed right back with five of their own to even the score 10-10. The next 11 points alternated between the sides in a seesaw affair before NMU’s block secured the win.
“Super proud of our ability to persevere today!” said Associate Head Coach Kamryn Duffield. “It’s not easy to come into an adverse environment and execute the game plan as well as we were able to today. It was a great all-around team effort and win!”
The Wildcats were all about balance throughout the contest. Five ‘Cats recorded at least seven kills, with Kaylie McIntosh leading the way with 19. Anna O’Keefe followed with 13, KC Fortune had 11, Russell tacked on nine, and Larsen Bonnstetter contributed seven more. That spread can be credited to Barlow, who dished out 46 assists and recorded three kills of her own. Defensively, Fortune and Russell co-led the way with two blocks. On the back line, Liesl Haugen (13), Barlow (12), Fortune (11), and McIntosh (11) all reached double-digit digs.
The Pioneers were paced by Barakat Adekola with 23 kills and 18 digs, while Lamona Lauhingoa added 21 and 14.
In one of the most notable back-and-forth matches in recent years, the stats would reflect just that. NMU led in kills 63-62 and assists 54-52, while CSUEB led in attack percentage .274 to .235, blocks 7-5, and aces 9-6.
How it Happened
NMU came out swinging as a McIntosh kill opened the scoring for a quick 2-0 lead, but Cal State East Bay answered right back. The set stayed tight from there, with four different Wildcats finding kills in the first ten points with the score knotted up at 10-10.
Russell took over from there, adding three kills and a block to push NMU ahead 16-15 and force a CSUEB timeout, but the Pioneers regrouped, ripping off five of the next six points to grab their first lead of more than two, 20-17.
That’s when the set turned into a heavyweight exchange. NMU called timeout, then answered with a McIntosh kill and another form O’Keefe to crawl within one. O’Keefe struck again to tie it, and Russell followed with a kill that sparked four straight points. Fortune slammed the door with five in a row, and NMU stole the opener 25-23. Both sides finished with 15 kills, but the Wildcats edged the hitting battle, .303 to .294.
Set two started with more of the same promise. NMU jumped ahead 4-1 and then traded points until it was tied 7-7. Barlow got clever with a dump kill over the net, then added an ace to push the lead to 12-10, but CSUEB fought back with four straight to force an NMU timeout, now trailing by two.
Bonnstetter’s dunk kill briefly slowed the bleeding, but the Pioneers built real separation, 21-16, and closed it out 25-20 despite another O’Keefe kill keeping NMU within shouting distance. CSUEB was clinical in the set, hitting .500 with 16 kills.
If the pattern felt familiar, it’s because set three played out almost identically to the first. Fortune got the Wildcats rolling with a scrappy sequence, facing two kill attempts coming back at her before finally putting down a block of her own for a 6-4 lead. Barlow kept feeding the middle to Russell and Bonnstetter, and after a quiet start to the match, CSUEB found its ace swing with two early ones, tying the set at 10. Haugen answered with an ace of her own, keeping it knotted at 14.
CSUEB again grabbed the lead past the midpoint, forcing NMU’s final timeout of the set down 19-16, but the Wildcats weren’t finished. Barlow won a net battle, O’Keefe added a kill, and NMU crept within two at 21-19.
Facing the same 23-20 hole they’d escaped once already, NMU delivered an eerily identical finish: a Haugen ace, a Russell block to tie it at 23, then a Fortune block and O’Keefe kill to close out the final five points and the set, 25-23. NMU led the match 2-1, with contributions spread across the lineup including 15 kills, two blocks, and two aces.
The fourth set brought the balanced attack that had carried NMU all match. McIntosh, Bonnstetter, and two from O’Keefe opened a 5-2 lead. But CSUEB found another level, ripping off seven straight, the biggest run of the match, to go up 9-5, then extending it to a match-high 12-6 cushion.
NMU clawed back with five of the next six to get within two, and a freshman-fueled block from O’Keefe and Russell trimmed it to 17-15. Another push tied it at 17, forcing a CSUEB timeout.
But the Pioneers steadied, building a 22-19 lead that survived an NMU timeout of its own. CSUEB won a replay challenge to reach set point, then closed it out 25-19, forcing the fifth set.
Winner-take-all, NMU came out on fire. A McIntosh kill opened the set, and the Wildcats surged to a 4-0 lead. Kills from McIntosh and two from O’Keefe stretched it to 7-3, forcing a CSUEB timeout. Fortune’s solo block made it 10-5.
But the match had one more twist left. CSUEB ripped off five straight to tie it at 10. Russell stopped the bleeding with a kill, and from there, neither team could pull away.
Bonnstetter’s tip kill briefly put NMU up 12-11, but it stayed tied at 13. NMU reached match point at 14-13, only for the Pioneers to answer immediately. O’Keefe’s block earned a second match point, and again CSUEB answered. Russell delivered a kill for a third match point at 16-15, and finally, she and Barlow teamed up for a block that sealed it, 17-15, in a finish that matched the chaos of everything that came before it.
Up Next
The Wildcats will look to carry the momentum into tomorrow, playing a doubleheader against Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. EDT and Westmont at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
