Northern Michigan University volleyball players, from left, Jacqueline Smith, Liesl Haugen, Allie Barlow, Kaysie Bakke, Helen Beiring and McKenzie Gruner react to winning a point in the first set of a GLIAC volleyball match played against Purdue Northwest at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Friday. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

By Journal Sports Staff

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University volleyball team edged closer to clinching home-court advantage for the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals after sweeping a pair of home matches over the weekend.

The Wildcats played their final home matches at Vandament Arena, at least for the regular season, after scoring a four-set victory over Purdue Northwest and a five-setter past Wisconsin-Parkside.

NMU improved to 16-7 overall and 10-3 in the GLIAC, good for third place with four matches remaining. The Wildcats stayed within a half-game of second-place Grand Valley State and remained a game-and-a-half ahead of fourth-place Wayne State.

While all four of Northern’s remaining matches are on the road, three of them are against teams in the bottom half of the GLIAC standings.

NMU has its toughest challenge next, playing at undefeated and league-leading Ferris State at 5 p.m. Friday. The Bulldogs are No. 2 in the nation at 24-0 overall and 13-0 in the league.

After that, the Wildcats go to seventh-place Davenport at 6 p.m. Saturday. The following weekend they are at ninth-place Lake Superior State on Nov. 15 and eighth-place Saginaw Valley State on Nov. 16.

The GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals are set for campus sites of the top four teams on Wednesday, Nov. 20, with the semifinals and finals at the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals on Nov. 23-24.

Here are details from NMU’s home weekend:

NMU 3, Purdue NW 1

On Friday afternoon at Vandament Arena, Northern prevailed 25-15, 18-25, 25-14, 25-21 after beating the Pride in five sets in Hammond, Indiana, earlier in the season.

Regular offensive leader Jacqueline Smith again led the way with 14 kills, while teammate Kaysie Bakke added a career-high 12. Smith also led the Wildcats with five service aces, four blocks and she made a solid 17 digs.

Teammate Allie Barlow had three aces, McKenzie Gruner eight kills and three blocks, and Caylie Barlage and Liesl Haugen 19 digs apiece.

“Purdue Northwest is always tough to play as they are a very scrappy team,” Barlage said in an NMU Sports Information news release detailing the match. “I’m proud of the defensive effort and our hitters for consistently going up and being aggressive. Loved the never-give-up attitude we had tonight.”

Northern jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set after Smith had a pair of kills and Meghan Meyer one, along with Barlow earning two aces.

The teams traded several runs before NMU built a 20-11 lead, then finished off the set on a Bakke kill.

In Set 2, Purdue NW broke a 5-5 tie with a 5-0 run that put the Pride ahead 11-6, building its advantage to 18-10 before a 6-1 run by NMU pulled the home team within 19-16. That Northern run included three Bakke kills and one by Meyer.

But PNW scored the final four points to clinch the set, two of those points on Wildcat attack errors.

Northern built a 10-5 lead in the third set, then extended it to 20-11 after a 6-0 run that featured Smith and Barlow kills and a quartet of Pride errors.

The Wildcats put the set to sleep with the final three points that ended with a Smith ace and Gruner kill.

Purdue NW grabbed the early advantage in Set 4, with Northern not taking its first lead until a 3-0 run gave them a 10-8 lead, featuring kills by Smith, Gruner and Barlage.

NMU kept the lead until the Pride’s own 3-0 run gave them a 16-15 edge. After 10 straight plays where the teams alternated points, Northern ended the set and match with a 5-0 run that included two Smith kills and one by Bakke along with a Smith ace. But the day ended on a Gruner kill.

NMU 3, Wis.-Parkside 2

On Saturday afternoon at Vandament, the teams alternated winning sets before Northern finally prevailed, 25-19, 15-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13.

Team statistics were about as close as the score, with NMU holding the edge in kills, 63-56, while Parkside held the advantage in attack percentage, .211 to .195.

Parkside had more points, 76-75, aces 8-6, digs 87-82 and blocks 12-6, while Northern held the edge in assists, 56-52.

Smith led all players with 20 kills as Bakke had another career-high with 16 and Meyer eight. Smith also had two aces and two blocks, while Bakke had a pair of blocks.

Barlow made 48 assists and 15 digs, while Barlage had 17 digs and two aces.

“(Saturday) was definitely a battle,” Bakke said in an NMU SI release on the match. “We had some ups and downs, but I’m happy about how we fought through it together. I’m so proud of the team for getting it done in the end. Overall it was a good week.”

After several lead changes early in the first set, Northern took the lead for good at 7-5 after back-to-back points with an Olivia Webber kill and Haugen ace.

The Rangers kept it close for awhile until an 8-3 run by the Wildcats gave them a 20-12 lead. That run included two Smith kills, one by Webber and five Parkside errors.

NMU ended the set with another pair of consecutive points, the final one a Meyer kill.

Parkside jumped out to an early lead in the second set, all but putting it away with an 8-0 run that established a 20-9 advantage. At 24-13, Northern saved set point twice on a Meyer kill and Rangers’ error before UWP prevailed.

Parkside’s momentum carried into the start of the third set, with the Rangers scoring the first four points.

But the Wildcats established their own lead, 11-8, after an 8-1 run. In that spurt, Bakke had four kills and Meyer one as Barlage made an ace.

NMU kept their opposition at arm’s length, netting letting Parkside catch up again, and won the set on a Smith kill.

Set 4 featured an early Northern lead, that was until the Rangers scored three straight to tie it 12-12.

Each team had an extended run after that, but Parkside had the longer one, 5-0, to put it up 21-19, then finished off the set with another 4-1 streak to force a fifth set.

In an incredibly tight decider, neither team had more than a two-point lead throughout the fifth set.

But Northern finished the set and match with a 4-1 run that included Meyer and Bakke kills, and on match point, a Parkside attack error.

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