Northern Michigan University’s Remi Madison, center, receives the ball during a GLIAC volleyball match against Michigan Tech played at the Huskies’ SDC Gym in Houghton on Thursday. (David Archambeau photo courtesy Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Northern Michigan University volleyball coach Mike Lozier knows that what his team did in Houghton Thursday night is not as easy as it appeared at certain points.

Trailing 9-5 in the fifth set, the Wildcats stormed back with 10 of the match’s final 12 points to earn a five-set win, 24-26, 25-19, 25-18, 22-25, and 15-11, over Michigan Tech at the SDC Gym.

“Really proud of my team,” he said. “Winning in this gym is hard, and we’ve been fortunate to do it in the last couple of years. So, yeah, it feels good.”

It was by no means easy in that final set.

The Huskies (7-7, 4-2 GLIAC) raced out to the 9-5 lead, thanks in large part to the efforts of freshman right side hitter Madelyn Torola, who exploded for two kills early in the set as part of a career-high 18 on the night. However, after sophomore defensive specialist Madelyn Elsen posted an ace to put the Huskies up by four, she followed that up with a service error, which gave the Wildcats life.

From there, two kills by Emilia Gulock were part of a run that saw the Wildcats (6-9, 4-2 GLIAC) jump ahead 12-10. They did not look back, holding the Huskies’ offense at bay.

“Emmy Gulock, in particular, had a really standout night,” Lozier said. “She hadn’t played a point for us for two years, and this year, she’s really taken on a bigger role.

“They had a nice game plan against Kenzie (middle blocker McKenzie Gruner). They were slowing her down a little bit. Then, luckily at the end, she started to find her groove as well. 

“Anyone who scouts us knows our offense runs through the middle. They’re just going to have to deal with people getting in front of them. I thought they did a nice job.”

Looking at the entire match, Tech coach Cindy Pindral felt her team did not feel her team matched the effort level of the Wildcats. The Huskies were led by junior right side hitter Rachel Zurek, who matched Torola’s kill total, and the fact that they had a combined 11 aces as a team.

“We have to be more well-rounded,” she said. “We can’t rely on two people, or one specific area, to do the work for us.

“I thought Northern played up tonight, and we kind of played medium. We came out flat. That’s not to say everybody came out flat, but generally speaking, we came out flat, and that’s not going to get it done in a rivalry (match) like this.”

While the Huskies did a good job of containing Gruner, who had 12 kills and a solo block, freshman outside hitter Kaylie McIntosh made up for it by racking up 19 kills, the highest total of her career.

“She’s been up and down a little bit,” Lozier said. “Freshman go up and down. I’m constantly in her ear going, ‘You are capable of being great. You just have to remember that.’

“When you’re making mistakes, I use the example of (the late NBA star) Kobe Bryant all the time. Kobe Bryant would miss a a million shots in a row, and he would shoot the million-and-first shot thinking it was going to go in.

“You have to have that mentality as an outside hitter, especially. She just found her groove today, and I’m proud of her.”

The Huskies took the first set in extra points, with junior Jacqueline Yancy putting up four kills. However, from there, she was unable to find much more success, picking up only two more kills.

After the first set, the Wildcats came back with wins in the second and third sets, as McIntosh picked up 10 of her kills, five in each set. 

The Huskies responded strongly in the fourth set, driven by a six-kill set for Torola. Pindral loves what she is seeing out to Torola.

After a key block by sophomore middle blocker Paige Wagner put the Huskies up 17-12, they never looked back, even when the Wildcats fought back late to set close.

NMU had a quick turnaround, having to hit the road south for the southern end of Lake Michigan where they play in Hammond, Indiana, against Purdue Northwest at 1 p.m. EDT today.