Northern Michigan University volleyball players Angelina Negron, left, and Alli Yacko high-five during the Wildcats’ exhibition match against Central Michigan on Aug. 20. (Photo courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University won its final two matches at the NMU Open on Friday and Saturday nights to run its record at the tournament and for the season to 3-1.

The Wildcats pulled out a five-set win over Upper Iowa, 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 26-28, 15-12, then defeated Bemidji State (Minnesota) in four sets, 22-25, 25-11, 25-16, 25-20. Earlier in the event, NMU defeated Minnesota-Crookston in three straight sets before falling to Cedarville (Ohio) in five sets.

A pair of Wildcats were voted onto the all-tournament team — Meghan Meyer and Jacqueline Smith — as they were among the 10 players named from the seven schools that participated. The other schools were Upper Iowa and Central Oklahoma, each also with two all-tourney members, and Lake Superior State, Bemidji, Minnesota-Crookston and Cedarville, each with one player voted on.

NMU is back on the road this weekend to play four more matches at the Kentucky Wesleyan Tournament in Owensboro, Kentucky. On Friday, Northern faces Henderson State at 9 a.m. and host Kentucky Wesleyan at 1 p.m., then on Saturday, the Wildcats go up against former GLIAC member Tiffin at 11 a.m. and William Jewell at 3 p.m.

Here are details about the Wildcats’ final two matches at the NMU Open:

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NMU 3, Upper Iowa 2

On Friday night, Smith finished with 18 kills and teammate Lizzy Stark 11, while Lauren Van Remortel had 25 assists and Alli Yacko added a pair of service aces.

In the first set, UIU jumped out to a 7-4 lead before Northern tied it 13-13 and continued on to a 19-15 advantage on back-to-back kills by Stark.

The Peacocks pulled within two points several times down the stretch, but Smith scored NMU’s final three points with kills to clinch the set.

The Wildcats never trailed in the second set, though they couldn’t shake Upper Iowa until a three-point run including kills by Smith and Meyer made it 16-9. But the Peacocks clawed back to within 19-17 before another four-point run including a pair of Smith kills all but put the set out of reach.

UIU built modest leads several times in the third set, but NMU got back within 19-16 before the Peacocks scored six of the final seven points to stay in the match.

The fourth set went to “overtime” points before Upper Iowa prevailed to even the match 2-2. The teams traded the lead several times, but Northern faced three set points trailing 24-21 before scoring four points in a row on the strength of a Smith ace and Stark kill.

NMU took a 25-24 lead on that run before Upper Iowa scored back-to-back points after it was tied 26-26 to win it.

The fifth set race to 15 was tied four times in the early going before a Wildcats’ 6-2 run gave them the lead for good. But UIU scored back-to-back points to pull within 14-12 before a Meyer kill ended the match.

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NMU 3, Bemidji State 1

On Saturday night, Rayne Thompson made her NMU debut with an important one of the Wildcats’ 14 service aces as Meyer posted a sterling hitting percentage of .643.

Smith made a match-high 18 kills, while Meyer had 10 and Ania Hyatt nine. Van Remortel had a match-high four aces and 21 assists, while Yacko led all players with 15 digs.

In the opening set, Bemidji took the lead for good with a 6-0 run to go up 14-7 on a number of serving, setting and attack errors by NMU. While the Wildcats never fully caught up again, they did pull within 22-21 on a Smith kill before the Beavers scored three of the final four points.

Northern turned a close second set into a rout with an 8-0 run, including five kills from Meyer, Smith and Evynn Layshock, turning a 12-9 lead into a 20-9 bulge. In the final analysis, NMU scored 13 of the last 15 points in the set.

The Wildcats used that momentum to jump out quickly in set No. 3, taking leads of 9-4 and 16-7 before Bemidji strung together five straight points to pull within 19-16. But NMU immediately flipped the script and scored the final six points to end the set on the strength of two Madeline Crowley aces and kills by Layshock and Smith.

The final set was the most competitive of the night, with six early ties before several runs put NMU up 18-11. Four service aces propelled the Wildcats then, though the Beavers answered by pulling within 23-20 before a Meyer kill and Thompson ace ended the match.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.