Liesl Haugen paces the Wildcat’s defense with 29 digs
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team (7-8, 4-3 GLIAC) earned an impressive victory over the Parkside Rangers (10-5, 4-4 GLIAC) on Friday night, with set scores of 25-16, 21-25, 25-18, and 25-19.
Northern had its second-best offensive performance of the season, hitting .244 with 56 kills. Leading that effort was KC Fortune, recording a career-best 16 kills. Kaylie McIntosh also eclipsed double figures with 12.
“We knew this was going to be a very competitive match, but we played with a lot of intensity and truly earned that win as a team,” Fortune said after the win. “It really started in the back row. Our defense gave us a lot of offensive opportunities, and our block slowed down their attacks. We kept leaning into each other’s strengths both on and off the court.”
As Fortune alluded to, a showdown took place on the backline of each side of the court as well between the liberos. Parkside’s Natalie Harris, the two-time GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, notched 28 digs. Northern’s Liesl Haugen recorded a match-high 29, with the two accounting for several highlight plays throughout the night.
For as impressive as the Green and Gold was offensively at the net, they were equally impressive defensively. The Wildcats finished with 10 blocks, five of those coming in the third set. Anna O’Keefe led the way with 2.5, while Laynie Russell and Larsen Bonnstetter each added two.
How it Happened
Northern jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Parkside answered with three straight points. The Wildcats regained control behind a pair of kills from KC Fortune, then used a Kaylie McIntosh and Larsen Bonstetter block followed by an Allie Barlow ace to open a 12-7 advantage.
Parkside battled back to within two, but back-to-back kills from Laynie Russell and Barlow forced a Rangers timeout with Northern leading 17-13. Two more McIntosh kills helped the Wildcats score six of the final seven points to take the opening set, 25-16.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair early, with the first 10 points split evenly between the teams. Parkside then scored three straight to take a 7-5 lead and continued to build its advantage, eventually leading 17-9 after a 13-4 run.
Northern responded with four consecutive points to cut the deficit to four, then won an incredibly long rally to continue chipping away at the lead. The Wildcats eventually pulled within 19-16, forcing Parkside to use its second timeout. Russell came out of the break with a big block, but the Rangers answered with the next three points and held on to win the set, 25-21.
McIntosh opened the third set with an emphatic kill as the teams traded points again early. Two big blocks from O’Keefe helped Northern build a 12-9 lead, and the Wildcats continued their blocking barrage with their fifth of the set and third from O’Keefe to force a Parkside timeout with Northern ahead 19-14.
The Wildcats closed out the set, 25-18, to take a 2-1 match lead. Fortune recorded six kills in the set as Northern hit .382 with five blocks and two aces.
Northern carried its momentum into the fourth, using a 4-0 run to take an early 4-1 lead. The Wildcats built their advantage to 9-6 before eventually forcing another Parkside timeout at 14-11.
Northern then scored three straight as part of a 6-0 run to take a 17-11 lead and force the Rangers’ final timeout. Barlow added a dunk-down kill at the net as the Wildcats continued to surge, but Parkside answered with four straight to cut the lead to 19-16 and force a Northern timeout. Barlow stopped the run with another kill over the top, and McIntosh followed with a kill to reach match point. She finished it off on the next rally, giving Northern a 25-19 fourth-set win and a 3-1 victory.
Up Next
The Wildcats will now head to the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula to take on Lake Superior State on Saturday, October 3, at 4 p.m.
