Northern Michigan University’s Alli Yacko, left in green, bumps the ball on a Wisconsin-Parkside serve during the second set on March 6 at Vandament Arena in Marquette. (Journal photo by Ryan Stieg)

MARQUETTE — The impressive winning streak continues for the Northern Michigan University volleyball team.

The Wildcats (7-1) have now racked up seven straight victories after last weekend’s home sweep of Northwood and they don’t look like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

In a Zoom interview Monday, NMU head coach Mike Lozier said he was impressed with how his squad came out strong against a quality Northwood team.

“For me, honestly, it was how prepared we were to play against a very good opponent,” he said. “The last two weekends, the teams that we had competed against, their record total was 0-12. So we didn’t have to bring it as much as maybe we would against Northwood.

“All week, we were talking about how this is not a rollover match. We’re going to have to be ready to go. That Friday, I can’t think of another word other than we kind of embarrassed them. They were a 5-1 team.

“Talking to their coach before the match, he felt very confident about how his team was playing and was excited. You could tell in his words that he thought like ‘Hey, this is going to be a good match.’ We just wiped the floor with them. That I think was a really good sign for a young team that when we know we’re going into a tough match that they rise to the occasion.

“And then to be able to repeat it again on Saturday was really special and getting tested in that last set on having to pull out a come-from-behind victory was another good test for our team.

“This is one of my favorite weekends coaching, I think maybe ever, just because I know all the work we did Monday through Thursday and to see it put into action (last) weekend was really cool.”

The two wins over the Timberwolves also kept Lozier’s streak alive as he remained undefeated against them, even going back to his previous jobs.

“I was thinking about that probably too much,” he said. “I obviously didn’t tell the team about it, but yeah, I was thinking about that as well and how I was definitely nervous and that probably led to how I was pushing them in practice in the gym. I like having that statistic in my belt and I don’t want to lose it. So next year, I’ll probably over-prepare for Northwood again because I want to keep that streak going.

“It was just so much fun to see how Northwood competed against Michigan Tech, who I still think is the standard in our league this year, and how we were able to affect them in such an incredible way where they looked like they just couldn’t even breathe. Like they couldn’t figure out what to do and Friday’s match might’ve honestly been the fastest match I’ve ever been a part of. From first serve to the last point hitting the ground was 46 minutes and that includes set breaks of three minutes and a set break of five minutes, timeouts and so to average less than 15 minutes a set is a pretty insane thing to do.

“Like I said, I’m really proud of the team because of how we showed up ready to go Saturday, too.”

As good as the Wildcats looked against the Timberwolves, they can’t overlook this week’s opponent Lake Superior State (0-8), which shocked them last season.

“The thing I’ll always think about unfortunately is how we lost to Lake State for the first time in like 12 years last year and how I never want that to happen again,” Lozier said. “We’re going to be as prepared for this opponent as we were for Northwood. And we’re not going to talk about how they’re performing this year other than we’ve got to show up.

“This past weekend was the start of, kind of, (a) playoff mentality. Like if you want to win a GLIAC championship, we can’t lose. We just have to keep winning. While that can’t be all you think about, it can be a part of your process and understanding what your goals are.

“So we need to approach Friday and Saturday against Lake State just like we did Northwood and treat it like a playoff game. This team is trying to stop us from winning a championship and we’ve got to do everything we can to not let that happen.”

When asked if he thought at the start of this season if his team would be sitting at the top of the GLIAC standings in mid-March, Lozier said he didn’t.

“No, I did not,” he said. “We were starting three freshmen, and Lauren (Van Remortel), our setter, is still a sophomore. So you just never know.

“We were very fortunate to have that fall semester to start to develop relationships on the court and not have to compete. But that being said, it still is difficult given the circumstances to create good team chemistry and we were able to do that.

“No, I would never have guessed that we’d be 7-1 and be rolling the way we are. But I’m not going to question it, I’m just going to keep riding the confidence we have and this momentum we’ve created.”

First serve is set for 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.