Northern Michigan University’s six players on the court for the final point celebrate defeating Michigan Tech 20-18 in the fifth set of their GLIAC match played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Oct. 28. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — With the conference standings as tightly packed as they are, having all four remaining matches at home could pay big dividends for the volleyball team at Northern Michigan University.

The Wildcats begin this end-of-the-season rush at Vandament Arena by hosting league leader Ferris State at 4 p.m. today. Northern then entertains fifth-place Davenport at 3 p.m. Saturday, with matches against 10th-place Lake Superior State and ninth-place Saginaw Valley State next weekend.

NMU is currently in fourth place, right in the middle of an eight-team logjam atop the standings in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Ferris leads the way at 10-2 while Michigan Tech and Purdue Northwest are at the bottom of this mess, but only four games back at 6-6.

Wayne State and Grand Valley State are tied for second at 9-3, NMU is fourth at 8-4 and Davenport and Wisconsin-Parkside are tied for fifth at 7-5.

None of the other three remaining conference teams are better than 2-10.

The Wildcats have to be wary of payback, though, since they opened their GLIAC season back in mid-September with three-set sweeps at both Ferris and Davenport.

Today’s and Saturday’s matches will be streamed on FloCollege and be broadcast on area radio stations, today’s on WUPT 100.3 FM The Point and Saturday’s on WUPK 94.1 FM The Breeze.

Fans can also stay connected with @NMU_Wildcats and @NMU_Volleyball on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for updates throughout the weekend, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the volleyball schedule for links to ticket information, live video, live statistics and a preview.

“These matches are important if we want to play one more in Vandament Arena,” Northern head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the matches, as he alluded to the possibility of the Wildcats hosting a GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal match. “It’s amazing to have the last two weekends at home, and it’s nice to make these teams come to us.”

Of course, Northern paid a price getting these late-season home matches — the Wildcats played 17 of their first 19 matches on the road, including a pair of four-match tournaments in Florida and Minnesota.

NMU has to earn one of the top seeds during the regular season to host a GLIAC quarterfinal, with the top four teams hosting the next four in that first round on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Before that, though, Northern wants to continue playing well at home. Their last three home matches, from Oct. 24-28, each went the maximum five sets, with the Wildcats winning two of them, including an exciting 20-18 fifth-set win over Michigan Tech on Oct. 28.

Last week during its final road trip of the regular season, NMU won in four sets at Roosevelt and lost in three at Wisconsin-Parkside.

Overall, Northern senior middle blocker McKenzie Gruner continues her offensive prowess. She has 165 kills and a .357 hitting percentage in the league, both ranked No. 3 in the GLIAC, which included a career-high 24 kills vs. MTU, also tying the conference season high.

After Gruner’s team-high 268 kills, Madison York has 191, Kaysie Bakke 164, Kaylie McIntosh 158 and Emilia Gulock 134. Teammate Allie Barlow is third in GLIAC matches with 9.94 assists per set, while Liesl Haugen has the same ranking with 4.7 digs per set, notching at least 20 in nine of 19 matches.

Her 38-dig night vs. the Huskies is No. 1 for a match this season in the GLIAC and second highest in Northern history.

Ferris, which is 19-5 overall, is ranked No. 18 in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll.

The Bulldogs are especially tough defensively, their 18.2 digs per set ranking No. 16 in NCAA Division II. They’re also top-50 with a .243 hitting percentage, 13.7 kills per set, and .151 opponent hitting percentage.

Gabby Piazza averages 3.63 kills per set as Tia Brandel-Wilhelm is in her 30th season as head coach with a career 807-269 record.

Davenport, just a game behind the Wildcats and 11-11 overall, averages a league-leading 13.2 assists per set and is second with 13.9 kills per set.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the matches. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.