NMU volleyball splits on road after plenty of close sets
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MARQUETTE -- The Northern Michigan University volleyball team played in a pair of quite competitive meets on the road over the weekend, splitting its first two matches in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Wildcats visited the southern end of Lake Michigan, defeating Purdue Northwest in four sets before falling to Roosevelt, also in four sets.
NMU, now 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC, returns home to Vandament Arena for three consecutive league matches over the next week. Northern starts with Davenport at 4 p.m. Friday, then takes on Saginaw Valley State at 4 p.m. Saturday, before taking a couple of days off to tune up for its big match against chief Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech at 6 p.m. next Tuesday.
Here are details from the recent road trip:
NMU 3, Purdue NW 1
On Friday evening in Hammond, Indiana, the Wildcats prevailed 20-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-22.
Freshman Anna O'Keefe led the Northern offense with a match-high 12 kills, while KC Fortune added 10 along with 15 digs and a team-high four blocks.
Liesl Haugen had a match-high 16 digs to go with three service aces, the same number of aces by teammate Allie Barlow to go with 45 assists.
Haugen made two digs on the first point of the match, giving NMU a quick lead. With the score tied 3-3, Purdue NW went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 11-4 cushion.
After the teams traded four-point runs, the Lions still had a 19-10 lead. Northern then pulled off a 7-1 run, keyed by three kills by Laynie Russell and a kill and ace by Fortune, to get back within 22-20.
But Purdue NW (2-6, 0-1) scored the final three points of the set to win the opening set.
In the second set, the Wildcats built an early lead, only to watch the Lions score four straight to tie it 7-7. But NMU wasn't done, immediately going on a 6-1 spurt to go ahead 13-8, powered by kills from Haugen and Larsen Bonnstetter.
Another couple 3-0 streaks the Wildcats got it to set point at 24-15, but the home team staved it off twice before Northern's Kaylie McIntosh ended the set with a kill to even the match.
In Set 3, Fortune made a kill to put NMU up 6-5, a lead it wouldn't relinquish until it was almost too late.
The Wildcats kept that lead until the Lions put together a four-point streak to go ahead 24-23. But NMU's Olivia Ziemer made a kill to keep the set alive at 25-25, and a few points later, Purdue NW committed back-to-back errors to hand Northern the set.
That must've really rankled the Lions, who sprinted to a 6-0 lead in Set 4, though the Wildcats fought back to tie it 10-10, culminated by a Cece Huizingh ace.
The teams traded winners until NMU put together three straight points on two kills by O'Keefe and one by Russell.
After more trading back and forth of points, Northern ended the match with back-to-back points on a Purdue NW attack error and a Fortune kill.
Roosevelt 3, NMU 1
On Saturday afternoon in Chicago, the Lakers won 25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 27-25.
Ziemer led a balanced Wildcat attack with 11 kills as Russell and Grace Allen each had 10.
Ziemer also made eight digs, while Barlow led NMU in three stats -- 14 digs, 36 assists and two aces, the latter shared with Fortune and Lauren Cardwell.
Haugen had 13 digs and six assists.
This match was close on the stats sheet for the teams, with Northern actually holding the edge in four of the six major categories -- 61-60 in points, 50-46 in kills, 47-44 in assists and 59-50 in digs. Roosevelt (4-5, 1-1) was only ahead 8-7 in aces and 6-4 in blocks.
In the opening set, NMU jumped out 4-1, including a Barlow ace to open things, but a mid-set, 10-2 extended run by the Wildcats gave them a 15-10 advantage. In that string, Fortune had a pair of aces and McIntosh a kill.
The Lakers then turned the tables, going on a 7-2 spurt to tie it 17-17. They added another 4-0 run to take control and be able to take advantage of back-and-forth scoring the rest of the way to secure the set.
Northern took an early lead in Set 2, only to watch Roosevelt use a four-point string to go up 9-8. It stayed close after that, with two separate 4-0 runs by the Wildcats eventually putting them ahead 20-17.
But the Lakers used their own four-point spurt to go up 24-23, Allen making a kill to tie it 24-24. Two points in a row ended the set and gave Roosevelt a 2-0 match lead.
That might've given NMU the spur it needed, as it used a five-point run to go up 5-2 in the third set and never trailed again. But the Lakers didn't fall far off the pace, and used three points in a row to tie it 17-17. Then NMU put it away with the final four points of the set, keyed by back-to-back kills from Allen.
In the fourth set, NMU again led 6-3 before Roosevelt got hot and built a 16-13 lead. NMU tied it 18-18, then 3-0 runs by both teams left them tied 24-24.
The teams traded a couple points before the home team scored back to back to clinch the set and match.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the matches
Northern Michigan University's Allie Barlow, right, sets the ball during a match played against Tiffin at the UP North Volleyball Tournament at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Aug. 29. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)