MARQUETTE, Mich. - Northern Michigan University volleyball (12-13, 12-4 GLIAC) battled back to force five games but ultimately fell to Saginaw Valley 3-2 (25-27, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11).  The Wildcats and Cardinals are now tied for the third place in the North Division with only one weekend left to play.

"Just an outstanding game," commented Head Coach Dominic Yoder.  "Give Saginaw Valley a lot of credit they were able to force long rally after long rally and they gave it a great effort.  We'll bounce back and go back to work.  Our young players have really progressed through out this year and they know these last two matches will be important before the conference tournament."

A thriller of a first set opened the match as Saginaw took the first lead at 11-8.  NMU then answered with a 7-1 run to take the 15-12 advantage.  A Saginaw timeout was able to slow the momentum as the two teams went back and forth with NMU holding onto a 23-20 lead.  The Cardinals scored the next four points giving them an early set point, but the Wildcats held SVSU off and scored four of the final five points to take the set at 27-25.  Sophomore middle hitter Anna Aycock led the charge for NMU with five kills and a .400 hitting percentage.

NMU opened the second set with a slim 14-13 lead before Saginaw scored eight of the next nine points to take a 21-16 lead.  The Cardinals were able to cruise to the set win, scoring the final three points, at 25-19.

Out of the intermission, the two teams battled to a 6-6 tie before SVSU used a 11-2 run to take a comfortable 17-8 lead.  The Cardinals would go on to win the set 24-15 after scoring six of the final eight points.

Northern Michigan came out to a 14-9 lead to open the fourth set, but Saginaw answered and knotted the game at 16 shortly after.  The two teams then went back and forth to a 20-20 draw when NMU used a 4-0 run to give them a set point opportunity.  Saginaw held off the Wildcats three times before junior outside hitter Lisa Studnicka ended the set with a kill, forcing a fifth set.

The Cardinals were able to take an early 6-3 lead in the final stanza before an NMU timeout slowed their momentum.  The Wildcats were able to score eight of the next 13 points to knot the game at 11-11.  Saginaw then was able to spread the ball around as four different players recorded kills to end the match at 15-11.

Sophomore outside hitter Alex Larsen led NMU with 14 kills, while Aycock followed her with 12.  Freshman middle hitters Kayla Chosa and Madison Whitehead had 11 and 10 kills, respectively.  Junior libero Alex Berger recorded a game-high 29 kills in the back row and Studnicka was right behind her with 22 digs.

Northern Michigan closes out the regular season at home when they host LSSU Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. and Northwood Nov. 8 at 4 p.m.