Wildcats volleyball off to California
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MARQUETTE -- California, here we come!
After opening the season with a .500 record of 2-2 at its own UP North Volleyball Tournament last weekend, the Northern Michigan University volleyball team travels about as far west as it can go and still stay in the United States by playing in the Cal State East Bay Invitational starting this afternoon.
The event is being held in Hayward, California, which is just south of Oakland and just southeast of San Francisco near the San Francisco Bay.
Host Cal State East Bay might sound familiar to Wildcats' fans, since the Pioneers just competed at the UP North event last weekend, losing all three of their matches. NMU and Cal State didn't meet there, but will to open the California event at 5 p.m. EDT today.
Similar to the event at Vandament Arena, Northern will play four matches in three days, also facing the Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, Westmont College of Santa Barbara, California, at 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday and San Francisco State at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday.
The Colorado school is already 4-0 in this early part of the season, while San Fran State, like Cal State East Bay, is 0-3. Westmont is 1-3.
Last weekend, the Wildcats defeated Winona State (Minnesota) in four sets, lost in three sets to national No. 5 St. Cloud State, also of Minnesota, lost in four sets to Minnesota-Duluth, and ended the run with a three-set sweep of Tiffin of Ohio.
Fans can follow @NMU_Wildcats and @NMU_Volleyball on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for updates throughout the weekend, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the volleyball schedule for links to live statistics and previews.
"We did so much learning in Florida last year that I am pretty excited for this trip," Northern head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the event. "We are playing four quality opponents that will challenge us and test us, and that's what we want."
The coach was referring to last year's season-opening trip to Pensacola, Florida, for the SpringHill Suites Invitational, where the Wildcats lost three of four matches over three days, including to ranked Southwest Minnesota State.
It led to NMU opening the season 1-9 before the Wildcats righted the ship during the GLIAC part of the schedule and finishing just a single game out of the top spot in the league regular season at 12-4.
Looking at this year's Northern squad so far, Kaylie McIntosh leads with 47 kills, while freshman and UP North all-tournament team honoree Anna O'Keefe joins KC Fortune with 39 kills apiece.
O'Keefe, who had a match-high 20 kills in her first collegiate match vs. Winona, finished the weekend with an impressive .267 attack percentage along with five blocks.
The Wildcats have returned 14 of 19 players from last year's team, including GLIAC Second Teamers Allie Barlow and Liesl Haugen.
Barlow had 149 assists last weekend, with her 10.64 assists per set second in the conference. Last year as a junior, she recorded 1,088 assists, or 10.06 per set, both second in the GLIAC. In three seasons, he has 2,560 assists, already vaulting her into the top 10 in program history.
Haugen, like Barlow a senior, had 76 digs, or 5.43 per set, last week as she anchors a veteran defensive unit. Three times she was GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week last year, finishing second in the league with 4.98 digs per set and also seventh with 0.40 service aces per set.
Looking at this week's opponents, Cal State East Bay faced a tough slate last weekend, falling to St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth, which also defeated the Wildcats, and also lost to NMU's chief Upper Peninsula rival, Michigan Tech.
Interestingly, Pioneers head coach Kimberly Lambert spent her freshman year as a player at Northern. For Cal State's current team, freshman Lamona Lauhingoa leads with 34 kills as she made the UP North all-tournament team.
The Colorado School of Mines is receiving votes in the initial American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, the Orediggers
Northern Michigan University's KC Fortune, front, digs the ball during a match played against Tiffin at the UP North Volleyball Tournament at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Westmont opened with three losses before defeating Cal State-Los Angeles in five sets. Junior Audrey Hyde has a least a dozen kills in three of the four matches for the Warriors, totaling a team-high 53.
San Francisco State's three losses have all come against either ranked teams or ones receiving votes in the poll. Five Gators players have between 25 and 30 digs, with a half dozen also having at least three blocks.
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.