Northern Michigan University’s Meghan Meyer celebrates a point during a Wildcats’ match held at Vandament Arena in Marquette. (Photo coutesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — Senior middle blocker Meghan Meyer was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Northern Michigan University volleyball team to a pair of road victories over the weekend to open the GLIAC portion of its schedule.

The Wildcats won at Wisconsin-Parkside in three sets and at Purdue Northwest in five sets to improve to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

Meyer totaled nine blocks, five of them solo, in the two matches, including a season-high six vs. Parkside, a number that was just one short of her career high.

“Meghan has been working so hard on her blocking this year, and it is great to see her hard work pay off (last) weekend,” NMU head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the award. “She really was a force at the net during both matches. I know the entire team is proud of Meghan for receiving this award.”

Meyer was also a stalwart on offense, reaching double-digit kills in both matches, with a season-high 14 kills against Purdue NW and a .643 attack percentage at Parkside, the second-best mark across the league over the weekend.

The Wildcats begin a six-match conference homestand at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Davenport, the next day hosting Ferris State at 3:30 p.m. in the newly refurbished Vandament Arena.

The home matches continue the following weekend with an Oct. 4 match vs. Saginaw Valley State and an Oct. 5 encounter with Lake Superior State.

The final matches of this home string ends with encounters against Michigan Tech on Oct. 10 and GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt on Oct. 11.

Here are details about last weekend on the road:

———————

NMU 3, Wisconsin-Parkside 0

On Friday evening at Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Wildcats prevailed 25-23, 25-23, 25-16.

Northern had an attack percentage of .357, its best mark since Oct. 29, 2022, at Wayne State.

Setter Allie Barlow had 34 assists to go with a career-high six kills, connecting consistently with Meyer and fellow middle blocker McKenzie Gruner as the latter two combined for 19 kills and a .600 attack percentage.

Meyer had a match-high 10 kills as Gruner and NMU’s Jacqueline Smith had nine apiece. Meyer also added her match-high six blocks, while Carlie Barlage made three service aces and Liesl Haugen a team-high 10 digs. Smith and Barlow had seven digs apiece.

In the first set, the teams traded the lead until Northern took control with a 5-1 surge to go ahead 16-12. That streak included a pair of Gruner kills and a Barlow ace.

Parkside hung close until the Wildcats reeled off another 5-1 streak to go up 23-19. That streak included three Meyer kills and one by Barlow.

The Rangers got close again, getting within 24-23 before a Smith kill ended the set.

The second set was even closer, with neither team taking more than a three-point lead until Parkside rattled off an 8-2 run to take a 23-19 lead.

But that must’ve spurred on the Wildcats, who immediately scored the final half-dozen points of the set, led by a pair of Barlage aces and Barlow kill along with a trio of Rangers’ attack errors.

Unlike the first two sets, NMU took control right away in the third set, taking leads of 5-3, then 15-7. The buildup of the lead included three kills by Meyer, two by Barlow and one each by Smith and KC Fortune.

The teams mostly traded points after that until Barlow made a final kill to end the match.

———————

NMU 3, Purdue Northwest 2

On Saturday afternoon in Hammond, Indiana, the Wildcats gutted out a 17-25, 25-14, 20-25, 25-21, 15-8 comeback victory.

Meyer again led the Wildcats on offense with 14 kills, while Smith had 13 and Gruner eight. Meyer and Smith each had three blocks, while Smith added 12 digs and Meyer two aces.

Barlow led NMU with 35 assists and five aces, while Haugen led the defense again with 17 digs as Julia Bouma had 11 to go with two assists in just her second appearance this season.

“Our team did a great job of handling the scrappiest of the other teams this weekend,” Bouma said in an NMU SI release about the match. “We had to battle through a lot of tough rallies and grind all the way to the end.”

The hosts got out to a fast start, scoring five of the first six points, but NMU eventually evened the first set at 10-10 with a 4-1 run that included a pair of Smith kills and a Meyer ace.

It stayed close until PNW reeled off a 6-0 run for a 20-14 lead as the Pride coasted to victory.

Northern put its stamp on the second set to even the match, racing to an 8-2 advantage as Barlow had a pair of aces and Smith, Gruner and Helen Beiring each had a kill.

PNW pulled back within three points before another NMU streak, this one 8-2, made it 19-10. That string included two kills by Meyer and one each by Barlage, Smith and Gruner.

NMU held off the Pride, then stamped out the set with back-to-back-to-back points as Barlage had an ace and Meyer the set-ending kill.

The Wildcats played catchup for much of the third set and still only trailed 22-20 before PNW scored the final three points, all on kills.

Needing a win in the fourth set to keep the match going, NMU trailed 6-4 before rattling off an 8-1 run to take a 12-7 advantage. That streak included two Meyer kills and one each by Barlow and Kaysie Bakke, along with an ace by Barlage.

While Northern led the rest of the way, Purdue averted set point three times before an attack error ended it.

In the fifth-set race to 15, Northern gave up the first two points, but rushed back with a 6-1 run to go up 8-4. That spurt included a trio of Smith kills.

While the Wildcats kept the lead for good, PNW snuck back within 10-8 before NMU reeled off the final five points to end the match. That string included Meyer and Barlow kills along with a Barlage ace, though the match-ending point came on a Pride attack error set up by a Bakke block.

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