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Return for Homecoming: NMU volleyball back at Vandament Arena for 3 matches in 5 days

NMU volleyball back at Vandament Arena for 3 matches in 5 days

By Steve Brownlee 4 min read

MARQUETTE -- As is appropriate for Homecoming weekend, the Northern Michigan University volleyball team will return to its home Vandament Arena for a pair of matches over the next two days.

In fact, the Wildcats will actually make it three matches at home in five days when including its annual ferocious battle with main Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech on Tuesday evening.

NMU takes on Davenport at 4 p.m. Friday, then Saginaw Valley State at 4 p.m. Saturday. With two days off to catch their collective breaths, the Wildcats then host MTU at 6 p.m. Tuesday. After that, Northern won't have another home match until Friday, Oct. 2, a 5 p.m. encounter against Wisconsin-Parkside.

Each of these matches will be available on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point, while fans can also stay connected @NMU_Wildcats and @NMU_Volleyball on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for updates. Or visit the Northern athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the volleyball schedule for links to ticket information, live video, live statistics and a preview.

"If we're seeing results from the change in our approach, good things will happen," Wildcats 10th-year head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the matches. "Davenport is a good defensive team and we will have to improve our block and find ways to score."

Northern is 4-6 after splitting its first two matches in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last week. NMU won at Purdue Northwest in four sets last Friday, then lost in four sets at Roosevelt on Saturday.

Previous to that, the Wildcats were involved in a pair of tournaments, each including four matches. NMU split at its own UP North Volleyball tournament from Aug. 27-29, then lost three of four at the Cal State East Bay Tournament in Hayward, California, from Sept. 3-5.

Against Purdue NW, freshman Anna O'Keefe led the Wildcats with 12 kills, while senior Allie Barlow had 45 assists and three service aces, and senior Liesl Haugen 16 digs and also three aces. Senior KC Fortune chipped in with 10 kills and four blocks.

The host Lions won the opening set before NMU stormed back to win three sets in a row.

Versus Roosevelt, Northern won the third set and was actually outscored in the entire match by just one point, the Lakers getting two-point victories in each set they won.

Freshman Olivia Ziemer led the Wildcats' offense with 11 kills, while Barlow led NMU with 36 assists, 14 digs and two aces.

For the season's 10 matches, sophomore Kaylie McIntosh leads Northern with 105 kills, as O'Keefe has 93, Fortune 79 and freshman Laynie Russell 77. Sophomore Larsen Bonnstetter has 41 kills to go with a team-leading 24 blocks.

Two other players were leaders for the Wildcats on last week's trip, Ziemer totaling 20 kills and 21 digs in two matches, while sophomore Grace Allen had 10 kills vs. Roosevelt.

Last season, NMU struggled in the early nonconference part of the season, going 1-7, before nearly winning the GLIAC with a 12-4 mark and finishing at 15-14. Though tying for third, the Wildcats were only one game behind pacesetters Wayne State and Ferris State at 13-3.

Northern was picked fourth in the league preseason coaches poll after Ferris, Grand Valley State and Wayne State.

Fourteen of the 19 players from last season return, led by GLIAC Second Team selections Barlow and Haugen. One of the losses was quite significant, however, in conference First Teamer McKenzie Gruner.

Davenport has gotten off to a hot start this season, now at 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the GLIAC after a five-set win over MTU and three-setter past Purdue NW last week.

The Panthers are third in the league with a .269 hitting percentage and second with 12.91 assists per set and also second with 1.87 blocks per set. And they top the GLIAC with 1.80 aces per set.

NMU has won three of the last four vs. DU, including a four-set triumph in Marquette in 2025.

SVSU has been no slouch, either, compiling 7-3 overall and 1-1 conference records, having defeated Wayne State in four sets and losing to MTU in four sets a week ago.

The Cardinals are hitting at .216 while limiting opponents to a .137 attack percentage. They're also top 30 nationally with 2.25 blocks per set.

Northern has won nine straight from SVSU, including a four-set victory at Vandament last year.

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

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