Gruner leads Wildcats with 12 kills
KENOSHA, Wis. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team took on the Parkside Rangers on Saturday afternoon, falling in three sets, 16-25, 25-27, and 16-25.
The Wildcats hit .186 for the match, while the Rangers attacked at a clip of .357, the second-highest output for an NMU opponent this season. The Rangers also led in aces 8-3 and blocks 7-3.
McKenzie Gruner led Northern with 12 kills. Parkside’s Ava Irvin led all players with 15 kills.
Northern is now 11-13 overall and 8-4 in GLIAC play and is one of seven teams within two games of each other in the standings. The Rangers won their sixth straight match, improving to 16-6 overall and 7-5 in the conference.
How it Happened
The Rangers started strong, building leads of 9-3 and 13-5. Kills from Sydney Bartels and Gruner pulled Northern within four at 18-15, but Parkside scored the next five and closed out the opening frame 25-16. NMU hit .129 to UWP’s .419.
The second set was tight, with a lot of back-and-forth early on. The Rangers managed the first sizable run of 5-0 to lead 10-6, but three straight from the ‘Cats had the set deadlocked at 13-13 halfway through. Northern was able to build a 17-15 edge, but the Rangers answered with four straight to lead 19-17. NMU then scored four straight after trailing 23-20 to reach set point, but the next two went to UWP to reach their own set point. They’d finish the set in extra points, 27-25. NMU pounded 17 kills on a .227 hitting percentage, while the Rangers hit .333.
Northern jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the third. The Rangers broke out on the match’s longest run, seven straight, to quickly lead 14-9. That Parkside lead extended all the way to the finish, as they scored six of the final seven to win 25-16 and secure the sweep.
Up Next
The Wildcats will be back home to begin a four-game homestand to close out the regular season, beginning with top-seeded Ferris State on Friday, November 7, at 4 p.m.
