This story was produced by NMU Sports Information

MARQUETTE---NMU Volleyball was swept in straight sets by the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in the GLIAC Quarterfinals with final scores of 25-23, 25-14 and 27-25.  The Wildcats finish the year 14-14 overall with a 14-4 record during GLIAC play.

The first set proved to be a seesaw battle as the teams went back and forth.  Saginaw was able to hold the lead for most of the set and had the largest lead between the two teams when the Cardinals led 14-10.

The set saw nine ties with the latest coming at a 20-20 score.  From there, Saginaw was able to score four of the next five points to give them an opportunity at set point.  The Wildcats fought off the first two set points, but the third time proved to be the charm giving the Cardinals a 25-23 set win.

Freshman middle hitter Madison Whitehead led the way for the Wildcats with a .500 hitting percentage and five kills in the set.  Sophomore middle hitter Anna Aycock also recorded five kills in the set.

Northern Michigan was able to hold a slim 11-10 advantage to open the second set before the Cardinals scored the next nine points to take a 19-11 lead.  Saginaw continued to use this momentum closing out the set at 25-14 scoring six of the final eight points in the set.

Saginaw recorded a hitting percentage of .323 in the set led by Kelsey Ferla who had eight of the Cardinals 13 kills in the set.

The Wildcats and Cardinals battled to a 4-4 draw before Saginaw went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-4 advantage.  Northern Michigan didn't go away as they slowly began to chip away at the deficit.  The Wildcats brought the deficit down to an 18-14 score before subbing in freshman Jessie Kushner to serve.

Kushner helped rally the Wildcats to a 4-0 run to bring the game to an 18-18 tie.  NMU then was able to score six of the next 10 points giving them set point at 24-22.

The Cardinals fought off the Wildcats' chance to close out the set and eventually found the game at a 25-25 draw.  Saginaw then was able to score the next two points ending the match with a 27-25 final.

Sophomore outside hitter Alex Larsen led NMU in the set with a hitting percentage of .214 and five kills in the set.

"Our kids battled," commented head coach Dominic Yoder after the match. "We got stuck in one rotation there in the second set, but for the most part we really battled back and forth. We knew Saginaw would work us hard and play hard, we just asked our kids to do the same. The whole team really stepped up in the third set, and we saw a good performance out of our right side and middles.  Our defense prevented them from scoring and it really gave us some good opportunities to put good swings on the ball."

Larsen also led the team for the match with 11 kills as freshman setter Meghan Seymour assisted on 36 kills on the night.

In the back row, junior libero Alex Berger had a game-high 19 digs for the Wildcats.