Barlow, Bartels, Gruner, Haugen make the grade
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Allie Barlow, Sydney Bartels, McKenzie Gruner, and Liesl Haugen of the Northern Michigan volleyball team were recognized on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, announced on Tuesday. This honor acknowledges success on the court and in the classroom.
Barlow, a junior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, holds a 3.98 cumulative GPA in Marketing. She earned a GLIAC Second Team nod for the second straight season after posting 1,088 assists and 10.06 assists per set, both ranking second across the conference. She also increased her career total to 2,560 assists, slotting her in the program’s top-10 leaderboard. She added 34 aces, second on the team, and 33 blocks.
Also a junior majoring in Marketing, Bartels has a cumulative GPA of 3.70. From Freedom, Wisconsin, she finished the season with 135 kills (1.36 kills per set), 248 digs, and 28 service aces, with the latter two good for third on the team. Bartels posted a season high of 21 kills against Ferris State on Nov. 7, helping NMU knock off the top-ranked Bulldogs.
Gruner is a senior from Merrimac, Wisconsin. With a GPA of 3.60 in Construction Management, she was honored on the All-GLIAC First Team this season. She paced Northern with 343 kills on a .328 attack percentage, as well as a team high 91 blocks. She was named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week in the final week of the regular season and finished the season strong, recording 12+ in each of the last nine matches, including a career-best 24-kill outing vs. Michigan Tech on Oct. 28. In matches within the GLIAC, her .360 attack percentage ranked third and 3.56 kills/set fifth.
A junior from Maple Grove, Minnesota, Haugen holds a 3.50 GPA in Marketing. She was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team following one of the best defensive seasons in the conference. The three-time GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week recorded 20+ digs in half of her matches, including a pair of dominant 38-dig outings. She finished second in the conference with 4.98 digs/set and seventh in aces/set (0.40).
