NMU volleyball in logjam trying to get GLIAC home court
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MARQUETTE -- One of the top teams in the conference is coming to Vandament Arena on Friday evening to face the Northern Michigan Michigan volleyball team.
That's enough reason for the Wildcats to be on high alert at 6 p.m. when hosting second-place Grand Valley State of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Along with another home match at 4 p.m. Saturday vs. eighth-place Wayne State, NMU is also trying to earn a home hosts' spot in the first round of the upcoming GLIAC Tournament.
With the top four teams earning home court for the first-round quarterfinals, every league team currently has four matches remaining to make its case.
And the Wildcats' case is as part of a four-way tie for third place, joining Michigan Tech, Davenport and Saginaw Valley State with the same 7-5 league records. Right now, two of those teams would enjoy quarterfinal home court, with the other two traveling to play them.
Its impossible for any of those third-place teams to catch 12-0 Ferris State, the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II, and quite unlikely they can even catch GVSU at 10-2 in league matches.
But in addition to themselves, the "Group of Four" has to worry about Wisconsin-Parkside at 6-7 and even Wayne State at 5-7.
NMU just played Wayne State less than three weeks ago and Grand Valley a little over a month ago, losing both those matches in three sets downstate.
"Both (Grand Valley and Wayne State) are really talented teams," Wildcats head coach Mike Lozier said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the matches. "They both beat us a couple of weeks ago, so I am excited to see what we are made of this weekend."
Fans can stay connected @NMU_Wildcats and @NMU_Volleyball on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for updates throughout the weekend, 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.
The Wildcats will honor seniors Lauren Cardwell, Kaysie Bakke, Helen Beiring, KC Fortune, Liesl Haugen, Sydney Bartels and Allie Barlow before Saturday's match.
NMU ended up in this situation after splitting a pair of matches at home last week, losing in three straight sets against undefeated Ferris State and defeating ninth-place Purdue Northwest in four sets.
While Kaylie McIntosh led the Wildcats with 11 kills vs. Ferris, the Bulldogs hit at a .409 attack percentage while Northern's was just .125.
NMU turned the tables in those percentages vs. Purdue NW, going at .270 vs. the Lions' .134. Fortune led Northern with 15 kills and 12 digs, while McIntosh had 12 kills.
Barlow, already a GLIAC Setter of the Week twice this season, is No. 4 in the GLIAC in both total assists, 859, and assists per set with 9.87.
She's also No. 1 in the league with 44 service aces and 0.51 per set, both making the top 40 nationally.
McIntosh is tops on the team with 277 kills, another fourth-place mark in the GLIAC.
At 18-5 overall, Grand Valley is No. 2 in the GLIAC with a .276 hitting percentage and also .156 opponents' hitting percentage, while ranking No. 1 with 2.1 blocks per set.
Wayne State (12-11 overall) hits at .232 with 1.65 aces and 12.2 assists per set, all ranking in the top half of the conference.
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Northern Michigan University players on the court celebrate a point during a GLIAC match played against Wisconsin-Parkside at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Oct. 2. (Photo courtesy Carla Kamps)