Madison York career-high 18 kills for Wildcats
MARQUETTE, Mich. – After a five-set thriller and emotional win on Friday night, the Northern Michigan volleyball team found themselves in another heart-stopper on Saturday, this time on the wrong end of it, falling to the Wayne State Warriors 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 9-25, and 15-17 in front of a loud Vandament Arena crowd.
The atmosphere matched the intensity on the court, as the two teams traded momentum swings throughout the night. The match featured 21 ties and nine lead changes, with 10 of those ties and five lead exchanges coming in a dramatic fifth set. NMU held a pair of match points at 14-13 and 15-14, but the Warriors battled back to score the final three for the win.
The Wildcats hit .173 overall with 57 kills. Madison York recorded a career-high 18 kills while hitting .325, while McKenzie Gruner also reached double figures with 13. Liesl Haugen anchored the defense with 24 digs, coming up with several crucial saves late in the fifth. Allie Barlow guided the offense with 47 assists and added a match-high four aces. Wayne State’s Kayla Giroux led all players with 20 kills and seven blocks, helping the Warriors finish with 69 kills on a .274 hitting percentage.
NMU dropped to 9-12 overall and 6-3 in the GLIAC, while Wayne State improved to 16-4, 8-2.
How it Happened
Northern fell behind 6-2 early in the first and faced its largest deficit at 21-15. The Wildcats then roared to life, igniting the crowd with a 7-0 run that included two kills each from Madison York and Kaylie McIntosh to take a 22-21 lead. The Warriors responded with four of the final five points to escape 25-23. NMU hit .250 in the frame, led by four kills from Emilia Gulock, but Wayne State countered with an impressive .382 clip.
The second set mirrored the first in its back-and-forth pace. After Wayne jumped out early, a 6-1 NMU run pushed the ‘Cats ahead 11-8. The two teams traded points nearly every rally, with the Vandament crowd feeding off every dig and block. With the set tied at 20-20, Northern surged ahead behind a pair of clutch defensive plays and an emphatic block from McKenzie Gruner and Allie Barlow to seal it 25-21. The Wildcats hit .303 in the frame.
The energy carried into the third, as NMU stormed out to a 7-1 lead to force a Warrior timeout. Northern maintained control throughout, even after a brief Wayne push that cut the lead to 20-17. Gruner came up big again with a solo block to halt the run, and a WSU attack error closed out the set 25-21, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 match lead. NMU tallied 14 kills and four aces in the set.
Wayne State regrouped in the fourth, jumping out 9-2 and never looking back en route to a 25-9 win that set up a decisive fifth.
Barlow opened the final set with an ace that reignited the home fans, and the teams traded blows the rest of the way. Down 13-11, Northern clawed back with back-to-back kills from York to tie it 13-13. The crowd was on its feet as NMU earned match points at both 14-13 and 15-14, but Wayne State did not fold, scoring the final three points to take the set 17-15 and the match in a wild finish.
Up Next
Northern concludes its three-match homestand on Tuesday, October 28, when the Wildcats host rival Michigan Tech at 6 p.m. in the Vandament Arena.
