Jacqueline Smith makes First Team
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Four members of the Northern Michigan volleyball team have been named to the All-GLIAC Teams, announced by the conference on Friday. Jacqueline Smith took home first team honors, Meghan Meyer and Allie Barlow earned Second Team recognition, and Liesl Haugen was named an Honorable Mention.
In her fifth collegiate season, Jacquline Smith has now earned All-GLIAC First Team honors each and every year. She paces all conference players this season with 436 kills overall (a top-20 mark nationally) She has 20+ kills in seven matches and has reached double figures in 25/27. Smith recorded a career-high 28 kills against rival Michigan Tech on October 30, as well as a career-high 19 digs during the match. She is 4th among all of Division II active players in career kills with 1,907. On October 5th vs. Lake Superior State, she broke the program’s all-time kills record, surpassing the previous mark of 1,664 by Andrea Gommans that stood since 1993. She also reached 1,000 career digs earlier this season, becoming the 18th player in NMU history to hit the milestone.
Earning All-GLIAC honors for the fifth time as well is senior middle blocker Meghan Meyer. She hit her 1,000th career kill earlier this season in a match against Michigan Tech and has 1,056 for her career. Her .353 hitting percentage this season is 5th best in the conference. One of the most efficient middle blockers in the conference, Meyer has 14 matches this season with 6+ kills and a hitting percentage of over .300.
Also named to the All-GLIAC Second Team, sophomore setter Allie Barlow leads all GLIAC setters with 1,129 assists, a mark that sits inside the top-15 nationally. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native has also notched 94 kills, 44 service aces, 243 digs, and nine blocks. She set a career-high on October 30 with 62 assists in a five-set win over Michigan Tech, a tally that stands at 16th across Division II.
Sophomore libero Liesl Haugen was named an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention for the second consecutive season. Her 429 digs are the third most in the GLIAC this season. She recorded a career-high 31 digs in NMU’s five-set win at Michigan Tech on October 30. Haugen is second in the team with 434 receptions on a 93.3% success rate.
The quartet has helped lead NMU to the GLIAC Semifinals, where they will play Grand Valley State on Saturday, November 23 at 2:30 p.m. in Big Rapids, Michigan.
