Smith, Meyer combine for 35 kills
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team faced off against the Parkside Rangers in the GLIAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday night in Vandament Arena. The Wildcats came out on top in four sets (25-16, 25-15, 25-20, 25-15) to advance to this weekend’s Semifinals.
As the No. 3 seed, Northern will now look to No. 2 Grand Valley State, who took care of Davenport in straight sets. The teams will match up in the second match on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. No. 1 Ferris State will host the remainder of the tournament after a sweep of Purdue Northwest. They will face No. 5 Michigan Tech, who beat Wayne State, at noon on Saturday.
Senior Jacqueline Smith led the way offensively for Northern with 20 kills, her seventh time hitting that mark this season. Meghan Meyer followed with 15 on a .536 hitting percentage. Northern led in kills 60-39 and marked a .275 hitting percentage as a team. Allie Barlow dished out 50 assists while Caylie Barlage was stout defensively with 24 digs.
“Really happy with the entire team tonight,” Mike Lozier said after the win. “Everyone did their job. I am especially proud of Jacqui, Meghan, and Caylie. They did a phenomenal job in critical moments tonight. Our bench and the crowd carried us when we were down, and I am so excited to keep on going with this group. On to Grand Valley.”
Set One
Jacquline Smith opened the scoring with a kill that was answered by the Rangers with two quick points. Smith added another kill accompanied by two from Madison York to hold the slight edge early.
The Rangers continued to pressure into the ‘Cats keeping the score tied before a service ace from Lauren Cardwell and kills from Smith and Meghan Meyer set the score to 11-7. Parkside elected to take the first timeout of the match after a 4-0 NMU run.
Out of the timeout, NMU continued to press, soon going on another 5-0 run to lead 19-13.
As NMU approached set point, the team continued to push and went in its third run of four points or greater to lead 23-16. Another kill from Kaysie Bakke took the Wildcats to set point, where Smith ended it with her fifth kill, setting the score to 25-16. NMU hit .406 in the opening frame with just one attack error.
Set Two
Like the first, Smith opened the second set of the match with a kill, backed up by a service ace from Lauren Cardwell. The teams quickly tied back up at threes before Parkside took a small lead at 5-4.
The teams continued play with thrilling back-and-forth play, seeing two kills from Madison York that kept the game tied at 7-7.
Trailing 9-8, NMU scored the next six and nine of 10 to suddenly lead 17-10.
Out of a Parkside timeout, the Rangers returned to play with some momentum, tallying two more points to bring the team to 14, but the Wildcats inched closer to set point. Bakke recorded a kill that was followed up by an attacking error from Parkside, bringing the score to 23-14.
A kill from Madison York got the ‘Cats to set point, where a Caylie Barlage ace clinched the second set for the Wildcats (25-15).
Set Three
Meghan Meyer started set three with a kill that was followed up right away with a Parkside kill. After this initial exchange in points, the Wildcats fell two points behind the Rangers at 4-2. A kill from Smith and another from McKenzie Gruner began the Wildcat effort to regain the early lead.
The Rangers were able to maintain this two-point lead throughout the early points of the set, despite two kills from Allie Barlow, who assisted one from Kaysie Bakke as well.
Tied at 13-13, Parkside scored four straight to hold a 17-13 advantage.
A block from Meyer and a kill from Smith helped shrink the Parkside lead as the Rangers looked towards 25. McKenzie Gruner added a kill as well, getting the ‘Cats back within two before Parkside called for a timeout (21-19).
It would work for UWP, as they scored four of the last five points on three kills and an ace to take the fourth set, 25-20. The Rangers edged NMU in kills, 17-13, in the set.
Set Four
NMU opened set four with two dominant kills from Smith. Meyer also added two kills of her own, setting the ‘Cats with a 5-0 lead over the Rangers. After this large shift in momentum between set three and four, Parkside decided to take its first timeout of set four.
Right out of the play stoppage, Meyer added another kill to the Wildcat lead that was directly followed by a third kill from Smith as NMU led 7-0.
Smith recorded her fourth kill of the set followed by a service ace from Meyer to keep pushing forward. The dominant early performances from seniors Smith and Meyer led the team to have a commanding lead at 11-2 as they approached mid-set.
Barlow, Gruner, and York all added to the fourth set barrage with a kill, increasing the impressive NMU lead to 11 points, as the score showed 16-5.
Leading 20-9, Parkside briefly showed some signs of life with a 4-0 run, but Caylie Barlage recorded the final kill of the match setting the final score to 25-15 to move NMU to the next round.
Up Next
The Wildcats will head to Big Rapids to play in the GLIAC Semifinal match on Saturday, November 23 against No. 2 Grand Valley State.
