Wildcats split to stay 3rd in GLIAC volleyball
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Northern Michigan University's Allie Barlow readies to serve during a GLIAC match played against Wisconsin-Parkside at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Oct. 2. (Photo courtesy Carla Kamps)
The Wildcats defeated Davenport in four sets before being swept in three sets a day later at Wayne State.
NMU remained tied for third place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 6-4 in the league and 9-9 overall.
The Wildcats are tied with Saginaw Valley State, but well behind league-leading Ferris State at 10-0 in conference matches and second-place Grand Valley State at 9-1.
Davenport had been part of the third-place tie but fell back to 5-5 in the GLIAC and 12-6 overall, while Wayne State pulled close to the crowded middle of the pack at 4-6 and 8-10.
The league takes this week off from conference play, a majority of GLIAC squads participating in the Midwest Crossover being held at Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Indiana, on Friday and Saturday.
Teams from the GLIAC, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference will converge on northwestern Indiana.
NMU's schedule for this event hasn't been announced, other than that three matches are on the docket.
After that, league competition resumes as Northern will return home to Vandament Arena for two straight weekends through Halloween.
The Wildcats take on undefeated and first-place Ferris State at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, with a match a day later against ninth-place Purdue NW at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Here are details from this past weekend:
NMU 3, Davenport 1
On Friday evening in Grand Rapids, Northern prevailed in convincing comeback fashion, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-21.
Not only did NMU knock Davenport out of its share of third place, but dealt the Panthers their first home loss of the season.
Northern previously defeated DU in Marquette on Sept. 18, also in four sets after losing the first set.
While the Wildcats won most of the major team statistics, they especially dominated in service aces, 11-2, their 11 the most this season. Top setter Allie Barlow joined top defender Liesl Haugen with three aces apiece, while KC Fortune had two.
Barlow also had 35 assists and 11 digs, while Haugen made 20 digs and had five assists.
Fortune led the NMU attack with 13 kills, adding in three blocks, while Anna O'Keefe and Laynie Russell contributed 10 kills each.
Russell also led all players with five blocks, part of a team total that matched this season's high of 10, as Larsen Bonnstetter added four.
"We always talk about playing NMU volleyball and playing our game, and I think tonight we executed that throughout the whole match," O'Keefe said in an NMU Sports Information news release detailing the match. "Every player was doing their role and trusting each other. We were playing smart, stopped on defense and trusting our system throughout long rallies.
"That helped us stay on them and come out on top."
Even with Barlow opening the match with an ace, the Panthers led through most of the early going of the first set before Northern went on a 4-0 run to go ahead 12-11. That run included another Barlow ace and kills from O'Keefe and Kaylie McIntosh.
The set was then tied 10 more times before Davenport scored three of the final four points to take the set.
NMU made an early push in Set 2, using a 9-1 run to go ahead 12-5. That extended run included a Fortune ace and a plethora of kills -- one each by O'Keefe, Fortune, Russell and McIntosh.
After the home team rallied for three points in a row trying to get back in it, the Wildcats reeled off a 6-1 run to make it 19-10. That spurt included two Fortune kills, one by McIntosh and a Barlow ace.
Northern ended the set with the final five points, including kills by Russell and Fortune.
Streaky scoring ended for the third set, with neither team scoring more than three points in a row. NMU got the upper hand early, using a pair of 3-0 runs to go ahead 11-5. In the first run, Russell collected back-to-back-to-back kills.
With Northern continuing to hold the lead, the Panthers attempted to get back in it with their own 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 20-16.
But the Wildcats had one more three-pointer in their quiver, using an O'Keefe kill and Sydney Bartels ace to get to set point, 24-17. While DU saved the first one, another one of their attack errors ended it.
The Panthers got the early jump in Set 4, leading all the way until Northern tied it 11-11 on a patented 3-0 streak that included a Haugen ace.
The lead changed hands multiple times after that, but with DU leading 21-20, NMU reeled off the final five points of the match to clinch it. That run included an O'Keefe kill, Haugen ace and a Davenport attack error on match point.
Wayne St. 3, NMU 0
On Saturday afternoon in Detroit, the Warriors prevailed 25-15, 25-15, 25-10 with the Wildcats managing just one ace (by Barlow) and one block (by Russell).
O'Keefe led Northern with seven kills as Haugen made 15 digs and Barlow 20 assists and seven digs. Fortune had five kills and six digs.
Attack percentages illustrated Wayne State's efficiency, the Warriors steaming along at .411 while NMU was a paltry .100.
The Wildcats' latest lead in any set was 3-2 in the third.
In the first set, WSU opened with a 7-1 run as NMU's first back-to-back points got it to within 10-5 after Fortune and Russell had kills.
Northern gave up a 2-1 lead in Set 2 when the Warriors put together two separate 5-1 runs to go up 12-6.
NMU's match-best three-point run late in the set came completely on WSU attack errors that made it 23-15.
The final set opened with two points by Northern, including a Barlow ace, that quickly went south when the Warriors had a pair of 5-0 runs to make it 17-7. NMU scored just three more points after that.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the matches. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.