By Journal Sports Staff

UNIVERSITY CENTER – Northern Michigan University lost an important opportunity to move closer to a GLIAC Tournament berth when the Wildcats lost in four sets at Saginaw Valley State on Saturday.

The Cardinals won 19-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-22, to lock up their berth in the tourney with an 11-5 GLIAC record and 21-6 overall.

NMU slipped to 8-8 in league matches and 19-9 overall. With eight of the league’s 16 teams making the postseason, NMU is tied for eighth with Ohio Domincan, one win behind 9-7 Michigan Tech and a single victory ahead of 7-9 Wayne State and Northwood.

Next weekend is the end of the regular season with the Wildcats to play at 0-16 Lake Superior State at 4 p.m. Friday and at Northwood at 5 p.m. Saturday.

On Saturday, Northern head coach Dominic Yoder wasn’t displeased with his team’s effort.

“It was a tough loss; the team fought until the end,” he said. “We’re going to get ready this week for the last regular season road trip.”

In the first set, Lisa Studnicka had four of her five service aces in the match. In the second, the Cardinals used a 6-0 run to turn a tenuous 10-8 lead into a decisive victory.

In the hard-fought third set, the teams traded points throughout until the Cardinals won the last six points to erase NMU’s 24-20 lead.

The fourth set was again close as the teams traded points until the Cardinals went on a 6-3 run.

The Wildcats were led by Maggie Liebeck, who finished with 14 kills and a .323 hitting percentage. Teammate Jami Hogeboom recorded 44 assists while Alex Berger had 25 digs.

“Maggie had a great performance in three sets, filling in on the left side,” Yoder said. “Berger put in another great effort defensively.”

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.