MARQUETTE – Though Northern Michigan University will get its full complement of home matches during the GLIAC season, the Wildcats volleyball team may feel like road warriors next fall.

NMU will take part in tournaments in Texas and Wisconsin along with the annual Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in its schedule released by head coach Dominic Yoder on Tuesday.

“Our team has high expectations for our season,” he said. “Our players have been working very hard to be an accomplished team this fall.”

The schedule features nine home GLIAC matches following their annual Green and Gold intrasquad match at Vandament Arena on the evening of Aug. 23.

The Wildcats travel to Canyon, Texas, for the Lady Buff Classic Sept. 2-3, a day after taking on Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Oklahoma. In the tourney, NMU will play Eastern New Mexico, West Texas A&M, McKendree and Adams State.

“We’re very excited to start our season in Oklahoma and Texas,” Yoder said. “The level of competition will be challenging but is exactly what we need to set our high expectations for our season.”

Just a week later, Northern goes to the Wisconsin-Parkside Tournament in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sept. 9-10, matching up against St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, Upper Iowa and Minnesota State-Moorhead.

“The preseason schedule is definitely demanding,” Yoder said. “Since we’re a junior-laden team, we’re expecting to compete with the very best before we start conference play.”

After the second tourney, the Wildcats open GLIAC play with four straight road matches the weekends of Sept. 16-17 and Sept. 23-24 at Saginaw Valley State, Lake Superior State, Tiffin and Ashland.

The home opener will be against none other than Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27. It will be followed by home encounters against Wayne State on Sept. 30 and Findlay on Oct. 1.

Following matches in Ohio against Urbana and Walsh, the Wildcats take part in the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament Oct. 14-15 in Naperville, Illinois, with opponents yet to be determined.

Following a match at MTU on Nov. 1, NMU closes out the 2016 regular season at home with four GLIAC matches against Hillsdale, Northwood, Lake Superior State and Saginaw Valley State that wraps up on Nov. 12.

Last season, Northern reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in five years, posting an overall record of 21-10. The Wildcats only need to replace two key contributors from the 2015 season – senior libero Alex Berger and senior outside hitter Lisa Studnicka, while returning American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American honorable mention team member Madison Whitehead.

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