Stories, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear Austin Graham's RRN interview with Coach Mike Lozier from Friday, and withe Assistant Coach Kamryn Duffield from Saturday. Also click the video links to see highlights from Saturday's match.
SATURDAY'S MATCH SUMMARY
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team picked up a four–set win over the Purdue Northwest Lions on Saturday.
The Wildcats won the opening set 25-20 and followed it with a decisive 25-16 win in the second. The Lions bounced back with a tight 25-22 victory in the third, but Northern slammed the door in the fourth with a 25-16 win.
Northern hit .270 on the match, more than doubling up the .134 from the Lions. KC Fortune led the way with 15 kills, followed by 12 from Kaylie McIntosh and 10 from Anna O'Keefe. PNW's Anika Huelskamp led all players with 20 kills.
NMU tied a season-high with 11 aces. Allie Barlow led the way with four and now leads all GLIAC players with 44 on the season. Taylor Smaka chipped in three, all coming on a key run in the fourth set. Barlow also led the Wildcats with 43 assists while Fortune had a team-high 12 digs.
Northern improved to 11-12 overall and 7-5 in the GLIAC, while the Lions fells to 6-16 overall and 3-9 in league play.
FRIDAY'S MATCH SUMMARY
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team was swept by the No. 1 Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday night, with set scores of 19-25, 11-25, and 11-25.
Kaylie McIntosh led the Wildcats with 11 kills while FSU's Gabby Piazza had a match-high 17. The Bulldogs hit .409 overall to NMU's .125. The Bulldogs showed why they are the nation's top team, also leading in kills (44-26), aces (7-1), assists (43-21), blocks (6-3), and digs (40-22).
McIntosh opened the match with two emphatic kills as the sides alternated the first 10 points. The Bulldogs threatened a run, but the 'Cats stayed in it tied 10-10. Ferris then went on a 4-0 run to trigger an NMU timeout, and later triggered the second ahead 21-15.
Strong plays from Larsen Bonnstetter and KC Fortune kept NMU within striking distance in the first, but Ferris closed it out 25-19. Both offenses were impressive, with FSU hitting .480 and NMU .320.
The Bulldogs scored the first three points of the second set and never looked back, forcing the Wildcats into both timeouts by 14-5. They closed it out 25-11, hitting .400 to NMU's .028.
Northern struck with the first two points of the third, but Ferris rattled off 11 of the next 14 and a 7-0 run later on put the set at rest, 25-11, at the match, 3-0. The Bulldogs hit .364 to .086 from the 'Cats in the final frame.
