Northern Michigan University head coach Mike Lozier, center, talks to his Wildcats during a review of a play in a GLIAC match played against Michigan Tech at Vandament Arena in Marquette last Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The volleyball team at Northern Michigan University went on the road over the weekend and split a pair of matches near the southern end of Lake Michigan.

The Wildcats fended off Roosevelt in four sets before being beaten in three straight at Wisconsin-Parkside.

NMU is smack dab in the middle of a tight race near the top of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, residing in fourth place. Northern is 10-13 overall and 8-4 in the league, a game behind second-place Wayne State and Grand Valley State and just two games back of leader Ferris State.

The Wildcats are also just a game in front of fifth-place Parkside and Davenport and two games up on seventh-place Michigan Tech and Purdue Northwest.

That means the top eight teams are separated by just four games, the same distance between the seventh-place teams and the next team in line, ninth-place Saginaw Valley State.

Needless to say, NMU has important matches remaining on its schedule, all four at home over the next two weeks. This week at Vandament Arena, Northern hosts league leader Ferris at 4 p.m. Friday before taking on fifth-place Davenport at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The following week, the Wildcats entertain Lake Superior State and SVSU, both in the bottom echelon of the GLIAC.

Here is info from last weekend:

NMU 3, Roosevelt 1

On Friday afternoon in Chicago, the Wildcats prevailed after a slow start, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16.

Despite the first-set setback, NMU had a decisive advantage in hitting percentage, .268 to .152, mainly due to fewer errors on kill attempts, 25 to 16.

McKenzie Gruner led Northern with 15 kills and four blocks, while Kaysie Bakke and Madison York had 10 kills apiece, Bakke adding three service aces and three blocks.

Allie Barlow made 38 assists and also had 10 digs, two blocks and two aces, while Liesl Haugen had 12 digs and seven assists.

“Really proud of our resilience tonight,” Northern head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the match. “After a tough first set, we dug deep in sets 2, 3 and 4. Kenzie (Gruner) and Emilia (Gulock) came up huge, especially in that final set. We continue to find ways to win as a team.”

The match started out close, neither team separated by more than two points until the Lakers scored four in a row to take a 12-9 lead in the opening set. After Roosevelt began opening up the lead, NMU responded with a 7-1 run to take its only lead of the set, 20-19. That run included Bakke and Gruner kills and a Sydney Bartels ace.

But the Lakers scored six of the final seven points to clinch the set.

It was game on for the Wildcats after that. Set 2 also started close until Northern went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. That spurt included a pair of kills by Bartels and one by Barlow, along with two Bakke aces.

Another 7-1 run made it 22-14, this streak including a Gruner kill and six errors on attacks, serves and sets by Roosevelt.

Finally, the Wildcats scored three in a row to end it, including a Bakke kill and Barlow ace.

The third set was another close one to start, neither team separated by more than two points until an NMU 6-2 run put the ‘Cats up 14-11. That streak included two kills by Bakke and one by York.

After some scoring streaks by both teams, NMU had five set points at 24-19. The Lakers saved the first three, then York’s kill put Northern over the top.

In the final set, yet another close one to start, NMU finally opened an 18-13 lead with a 5-1 run, including kills by Bakke, Barlow and York.

NMU also finished the match on a 7-2 run, which included two Gulock kills with the final point on a Haugen ace.

Parkside 3, NMU 0

On Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Parkside moved within a game of the Wildcats in the GLIAC standings with a 25-16, 27-25, 25-16 victory.

The Rangers held a 46-33 edge in kills and subsequent .357 to .186 advantage in attack percentage.

Gruner led Northern with 12 kills, adding in a pair of blocks, while Haugen had 12 digs and three assists. Barlow made 28 assists, nine digs, two aces and two blocks.

Parkside jumped out early with the first two points of the match and a 13-5 lead in the opening set. NMU made some inroads with three points in a row to get within 18-14, the spurt including kills by Bartels and Gruner, but the home team answered with a 7-2 run to end the set.

Northern jumped out early in Set 2, taking the first three points on a pair of kills by Bartels, but the Rangers answered with a 5-0 run to go up 10-6.

While the Wildcats took brief leads at 15-14 and 17-15, Parkside again streaked to a 4-0 run to retake the lead. Northern had one more good run left, scoring four in a row to reach set point ahead, 24-23, that string including two kills by Gruner and one by York.

But Parkside saved that set point and scored three of the next four to clinch the set. Northern’s point in the final spurt was a kill by Gruner that had tied it 25-25.

NMU led 9-7 in the third set when the Rangers exploded for seven straight points, going up 14-9. The teams mostly traded points until another 4-0 Parkside run made it 23-15, and two more in a row soon after ended the match.

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