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An even-steven weekend: NMU volleyball 2-2 after going 7-7 in sets at own UP North event

NMU volleyball 2-2 after going 7-7 in sets at own UP North event

By Steve Brownlee 7 min read

MARQUETTE -- Not that it has anything to do with this writer, but everything is even-steven with the volleyball team at Northern Michigan University.

The Wildcats are not only 2-2 after their opening weekend of the season at their own UP North Volleyball Tournament sponsored by Texas Roadhouse, but NMU has won seven sets while also losing seven.

On Friday, Northern lost to Minnesota-Duluth in four sets, while on Saturday, NMU downed Tiffin in three sets during the event held at Vandament Arena.

A significant portion of the Wildcats' success can be attributed to freshman right-side hitter Anna O'Keefe, who was the lone Northern player named to the all-tournament team.

She earned that spot by finishing second on the team with 39 kills in the four matches and 14 sets of play, which included 20 kills alone in her collegiate debut, a four-set victory over Winona State on Thursday.

O'Keefe also posted a nifty .267 attack percentage, the best among NMU's leaders in kills, while tying for third on the team with five blocks.

"I have to be honest, I did not expect Anna to have a weekend like she did," Northern head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the event. "Her play was incredible, and it opened up opportunities for other athletes to also have success.

"I am so happy for Anna to be honored this way, and excited to see how she continues to grow."

Sophomore outside hitter Kaylie McIntosh led the Wildcats in kills with 47, while senior outside hitter KC Fortune joined O'Keefe with 39 kills.

Other team highs for the weekend were set by sophomore middle blocker Larsen Bonnstetter with 15 blocks, senior setter Allie Barlow with 149 assists and senior libero-defensive specialist Liesl Haugen with 76 digs.

Each of the seven schools at the event had at least one player named to the all-tournament team, with two each from a pair of Minnesota schools -- St. Cloud State had outside hitter Shelby Kimm and libero Laurin Hamann, while Minnesota-Duluth had middle blocker Kenzie Kiminski and setter Ava Jones.

Those were the two teams that posted victories against NMU over the weekend.

Others honored were NMU's O'Keefe, Michigan Tech outside hitter Rachel Zurek, Winona State setter Hailee Peters, Tiffin middle hitter Katelyn Owens and California State East Bay outside hitter Lamona Lauhingoa.

St. Cloud, which entered play ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II, and Duluth both finished with 4-0 records, while the Wildcats and MTU each were 2-2. Winona State, which Northern defeated Thursday, was 1-2, while Cal State East Bay was 0-3 and Tiffin 0-4.

The Wildcats will remain in tournament mode as they return the favor to their California visitors at the UP North tournament, traveling to the Cal State East Bay Tournament from Thursday through Saturday in Hayward, California. The university is located just south of Oakland near the San Francisco Bay.

NMU faces the host Pioneers to open their four-match swing at 5 p.m. EDT Thursday before playing twice on Friday and once more Saturday. Northern continues play vs. the Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. EDT Friday and against Westmont College of Santa Barbara, California, at 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday, then finishes vs. San Francisco State at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday.

Here are details from the Wildcats' Friday and Saturday matches:

Minn.-Duluth 3, NMU 0

On Friday evening, the Bulldogs posted a 21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-9 victory.

UMD held statistical edges in every category, but maybe most lopsided in service aces, 10-1.

Fortune led the Wildcats with 14 kills and their only ace while making six digs, and McIntosh had 12 kills, Bonnstetter four blocks, and Barlow a team-high 30 assists to go with six digs and a block.

Teammate Laynie Russell had five kills and two blocks.

In the opening set, Duluth led throughout the early going until Northern strung together seven consecutive points to take an 18-14 lead. In that streak, McIntosh had four kills -- actually every other point including the first and last -- as Russell and Barlow each also had a kill while sharing a block.

The Bulldogs scored four straight to retie it 18-18 before another 5-1 run put NMU on top for good. Bonnsetter made a kill for Northern's 24th point and a Duluth attack error ended it.

The Wildcats had several early one-point leads in the second set before Duluth took control with a 6-1 run. Those early NMU leads came from a Fortune kill and two Bulldogs' service errors.

Duluth opened a lead of 21-11 with its own 6-1 run, then held off a late 4-1 charge by Northern to still win the set rather comfortably.

The Wildcats took charge to open Set 3, going up 7-3 after a four-point run that included McIntosh and O'Keefe kills and a combined Russell-McIntosh block.

But Duluth soon after answered with nine straight points to run out to a 13-8 advantage. Another four-point run led to a Bulldogs' 20-12 lead that NMU couldn't cut into very much.

The final set started OK for Northern as it trailed 7-4 with Fortune, McIntosh and Helen Beiring getting Wildcat kills while Bonnstetter combined with Beiring for a key block.

But UMD immediately rattled off 10 straight points to turn it into a 17-4 runaway.

NMU 3, Tiffin 0

On Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats won 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 as they trailed by multiple points only once in the three sets.

McIntosh led Northern's offense with 18 kills as she also made two blocks, while O'Keefe added 11 kills and Fortune had 10 kills, nine digs and two aces.

Bonnsetter put up six blocks, three times more than any other player, while Barlow had 44 assists and Haugen 20 digs.

In the opening set, NMU put together several modest runs to offset a big 7-0 streak put together by the Dragons in the middle of the set.

Tiffin didn't get its multiple-point lead then, but did go ahead by a single point on four occasions, the final time 18-17.

But it was then that Northern answered with a 4-0 run, and not long after, a 3-1 spurt, to pull out the set. The first run included a pair of McIntosh kills and a kill and ace by Fortune, while in the second one, Barlow and McIntosh had kills as Bonnstetter and McIntosh combined on a block for a point.

Leading 24-23, Bonnstetter made another kill to end the set.

The second set was Tiffin's best chance to make it a match as the Dragons jumped out to a 6-2 lead. But NMU chipped away and finally caught their opponents from Ohio at 17-17 following a 5-2 run that included three Fortune kills and one apiece by O'Keefe and McIntosh.

The Wildcats put the set away by ending on an 8-1 run, culminated by a Barlow ace but that also included three McIntosh kills and one by Bonnstetter, along with a block by Bonnstetter and Barlow that led to a point.

In the final set, NMU led throughout.

Northern turned a modest 5-3 lead into an 11-4 advantage on a run that included a McIntosh kill, Fortune ace and three Dragons' attack errors.

Tiffin didn't give in, though, going on a 5-1 streak to pull within 12-9. The visitors still only trailed 21-18 before NMU scored four of the final six points, ending on an O'Keefe kill to make it a straight-sets victory.

Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the matches. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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