NMU volleyball on road to open conference play
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Northern Michigan University's Cece Huizingh, left, and Liesl Haugen come together trying set the ball during a match played against Minnesota-Duluth at the UP North Volleyball Tournament at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Aug. 28. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
NMU is 3-5 as it travels to Hammond, Indiana, to take on Purdue Northwest at 5 p.m. EDT today, then heads to Chicago to face Roosevelt at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday to open its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule.
About a week later, Northern plays three home matches in five days, taking on Davenport at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, Saginaw Valley State at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, and finishing the homestand with a much-anticipated matchup vs. Michigan Tech at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Fans can follow the action @NMU_Wildcats and @NMU_Volleyball on Instagram and X, or by visiting the Northern athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and checking the volleyball schedule for links to live video, live statistics and a preview.
"Purdue Northwest has always been a thorn in our side," Wildcats 10th-year head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the weekend. "They play a different style of volleyball, and we have to be able to pass the ball against them.
"Roosevelt has a new coach and has been playing much better. It's a unique environment. We have to play clean volleyball this weekend and make our opponents beat us."
Purdue NW is 2-5 in its nonconference slate, while Roosevelt has played the only GLIAC match so far, having lost in three sets against undefeated Ferris State on Tuesday. The Lakers are 3-5 overall.
All of Northern's matches have come in a pair of tournaments. The Wildcats split four matches at their own UP North Tournament from Aug. 27-29, chalking up wins over Winona State (Minnesota) and Tiffin (Ohio), then winning once in four tries at the Cal State East Bay Tournament in Hayward, California, over three days last week, getting a win over the host Pioneers.
Statistics illustrate NMU's balance. Kaylie McIntosh leads with 96 kills, while freshman Anna O'Keefe has 76, KC Fortune 67 and Laynie Russell 58.
Teammate Larsen Bonnstetter also has 34 kills while leading the defense with 22 blocks.
Youth is a theme, with O'Keefe, Russell, Bonnstetter and Olivia Ziemer all seeing their first action this season and McIntosh in her second campaign.
Senior setter Allie Barlow notched 149 assists in California to put her at 10.64 assists per set, No. 2 in the GLIAC, and now has 2,856 careers assists, No. 8 in that category for the program.
Senior libero Liesl Haugen has 128 digs for 4.74 per set and is considered one of the league's top defensive players after winning that GLIAC weekly award three times last season. Her average per set ranks her second in the conference.
The Wildcats were chosen fourth in the GLIAC coaches preseason poll after tying for third with a 12-4 conference mark. Last year, NMU struggled in the nonleague season at 3-10 before missing the top spot in the GLIAC regular season by a single game to finish above .500 at 15-14.
Looking at this week's opponents, Purdue NW does have a four-set win over Nova Southeastern, which is receiving votes in the current poll produced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
The Lions average 1.91 blocks per set to rank No. 4 in the league, led by Kennedy Rowzee with 1.04 blocks a set and Ainsley Johnson at 0.94 to rank Nos. 3 and 4, respectively in the GLIAC.
Northern is 10-1 overall vs. Purdue NW and has won the last four.
Roosevelt, under rookie head coach Jasmine Chambers, is led by Abigail Wutka with 58 kills and Alessia Isgro with 56.
NMU has won all three matches vs. the Lakers since they joined the league in 2024.
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.