This collage of four Northern Michigan University volleyball players includes those recognized by the College Sports Communicators with Academic All-District Team awards. They are, from left, Liesl Haugen, McKenzie Gruner, Allie Barlow and Sydney Bartels. They were honored for accomplishments both on the court and in the classroom. (Photo illustration courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — Three juniors and a senior player on the volleyball team at Northern Michigan University have been named to the Academic All-District Team by the College Sports Communicators.

This award recognizes accomplishments both on the court and in the classroom, according to an NMU Sports Information news release detailing the honor.

The Wildcat honorees are senior McKenzie Gruner and juniors Allie Barlow, Sydney Bartels and Liesl Haugen.

Gruner, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Merrimac, Wisconsin, has a 3.60 grade-point average in construction management.

She was named to the GLIAC First Team this season, pacing NMU with 343 kills and a .328 attack percentage, along with a team-high 91 blocks.

Named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week in the final week of the regular season, she finished strong with at least a dozen kills in each of the Wildcats’ final nine matches, including a career-best 24 kills in a five-set home win over Michigan Tech on Oct. 28.

In that match against the Huskies, Northern’s second five-set win over MTU this season, she made kills on the final two points of a 20-18 victory in the fifth set that ended the match.

In all GLIAC matches, her .360 attack percentage was third in the league and 3.56 kills per set were fifth.

Barlow, a 5-9 setter from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has a 3.98 GPA in marketing.

She was named to the GLIAC Second Team for the second straight season after piling up 1,088 assists and 10.06 assists per set, both No. 2 in the league. That upped her career assist total to 2,560, already putting her in the career top 10 all-time at NMU.

Barlow also made 34 service aces, second on the team, along with 33 blocks.

Bartels, a 5-10 outside hitter from Freedom, Wisconsin, has a 3.70 GPA in marketing.

She finished with 135 kills, which translated into 1.36 kills per set, 248 digs and 28 aces, the digs and aces each third high for the Wildcats.

Bartels posted a season-high 21 kills against Ferris State on Nov. 7, helping Northern knock off the league-leading Bulldogs in five sets at Vandament Arena.

Haugen, a 5-7 libero and defensive specialist from Maple Grove, Minnesota, has a 3.50 GPA in marketing.

She was named to the GLIAC Second Team after one of the best defensive seasons in the conference, according to NMU SI.

Haugen was a three-time GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week and recorded 20 or more digs in half her matches, including a pair of 38-dig outings that each missed the program record by one.

She finished second in the league with 4.98 digs per set and seventh with 0.40 aces per set. 

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