Wildcats’ defense records several season lows
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – It took the Northern Michigan volleyball team less than an hour and a half to clinch its second win over Lake Superior State this season, sweeping the Lakers on Friday evening, 25-14, 25-20, and 25-9. It’s NMU’s first sweep since September 20 at Parkside.
To say Northern controlled play throughout would be an understatement. Northern did not trail after 7-6 in the first set, only trailing 1-0 and briefly in the mid-set in the second, and held the lead throughout the dominating third and final set. The win propels the Green and Gold to 18-8, 12-4 while LSSU dropped to 7-19, 2-13.
Jacqueline Smith led the way with 13 kills while six others contributed at least one. NMU hit .253, led in service aces 10-3 with Allie Barlow pacing the service line with four, and also led in total blocks 6-2.
Northern was as stout as they’ve been defensively all season, holding Lake Superior State to an opponent season low in kills (27), hitting percentage (.038), assists (25), and total blocks (2). No Laker recorded more than six kills, a credit to NMU’s defensive approach at the net and in the back line. Liesl Haugen (12) and Smith (11) each reached double-digit kills while McKenzie Gruner totaled three blocks to lead the way.
“I am very proud of this team,” Mike Lozier said after the win. “It has been awhile since we got a 3-0 sweep, and to do it in convincing fashion was great. The weekend isn’t over though, and we have a job to do tomorrow.”
Tied 9-9 in the opening set, NMU scored six of seven to pull away. The ‘Cats finished the set with runs of 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, and 2 without the Lakers stringing together multiple points in a row in that span. NMU hit .121 while LSSU was -.121 with 10 attack errors.
NMU faced a 15-13 deficit in the second after a 6-0 run from the home squad, but NMU rattled off four straight shortly after to lead 18-16. An Allie Barlow dunk set up set point at 24-20, and McKenzie Gruner finished it off with a kill to win 25-20. NMU hit .344 in the second and got 12 kills from five players.
The third stanza was all Green and Gold. NMU led 5-1 and went on the longest run of the match shortly after, 8-0, to extend the gap to 14-4. Another four-point run made it 18-5 and a Meghan Meyer ace finished off the quickest set of the night, 25-9. The Lakers hit below .000 for the second time and NMU commanded play with 12 kills and four aces.
Up Next
NMU will play Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, November 16 at 3 p.m. in the final match of regular season play ahead of the GLIAC Tournament starting next Wednesday.
