Wildcats host Wisconsin Parkside in GLIAC Quarterfinal Wednesday
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team clinched a weekend sweep after defeating Saginaw Valley State for the second time this season. NMU did not let the Cardinals break the 20-point mark in any set (25-19, 25-15, 25-17). The win marked the second straight sweep and nine set victories in a row for NMU.
With that, the Wildcats end the regular season at 19-8 with a 13-4 conference record and have locked up the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament. Northern will match up with the No. 6 seed Parkside Rangers and will play at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20 inside Vandament Arena.
NMU recorded 43 kills during Saturday’s match, with a season-high hitting percentage of 0.374. Jacqueline Smith had 13 kills during this match, matching her performance in yesterday’s match against LSSU. This dominant attacking effort was reinforced by Kaysie Bakke with 10 kills and Meghan Meyer and Madison York with six apiece.
Allie Barlow put up 39 assists for the Wildcats offense, while also performing on the defensive end, with two blocks and seven digs. McKenzie Gruner continued to be a consistent force for NMU as well, tallying three blocks and five kills.
“As a staff, we are super pleased with how our athletes competed this weekend,” Sarah Kuehn commented following the win. “They held themselves to a high standard yesterday and today earning both sweeps, and everyone is contributing. We are feeling good about how we are playing right now which is exactly what every coach wants going into postseason play. I’m very proud of our athletes and excited for next week.”
The Wildcats only had nine attacking errors during the match, compared to 17 from the Cardinals. Northern also held SVSU to an opponent season-low 37 digs.
Saginaw Valley fared a total of 28 kills on 91 attacks, earning a total match hitting percentage of 0.121. Sarah Veale recorded nine of the 28 kills, with one service ace and six digs. The team had 26 assists throughout the match.
The Wildcats won all six sets played this weekend, ending the regular season play with a pair of 3-0 victories. With this ending regular season play, Northern will look towards the conference tournament, starting with the GLIAC Quarterfinals.
Up Next
On Wednesday, November 20, the Wildcats will host the Parkside Rangers in the GLIAC Quarterfinals starting at 6 p.m. in Marquette.
