MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Northern Michigan volleyball team stunned No. 1 Ferris State in a tight, five-set match Saturday afternoon at Vandament Arena in front of 240 fans on senior day.

"I'm so proud of our team," head coach Dominic Yoder said. "We had a rigid game plan that we executed flawlessly."

The Wildcats downed the Bulldogs, who were previously unbeaten in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, in the decisive fifth set, 15-8. With the teams knotted at three apiece in that frame, Northern Michigan won three-straight points with senior Lisa Studnicka serving to pull ahead and then never allowed Ferris State back within a point.

After the Wildcats dropped the first set, 25-23, they regrouped to win the second in commanding fashion, 25-12. In that second frame, Northern Michigan built a 21-11 lead by winning eight-straight points with senior Alex Berger serving.

The Bulldogs regrouped to win the third set by the same margin as the first, but the Wildcats forced the decisive fifth set by posting a 25-21 win in the fourth.

Overall, Northern Michigan held Ferris State to .061 hitting percentage, including -.061 and -.067 percentages in the fourth and fifth sets. The Wildcats recorded a hitting percentage of .229.

Madison Whitehead paced Northern Michigan with a career-high 26 kills.

"Whitehead put in a national player of the week performance against the best team in the nation," Yoder said.

Kayla Chosa also reached the double digits in kills with 17. Jami Hogeboom hit the 50-assist mark for the fourth time this season.

Defensively, Berger (28) and Studnicka (22) reached the 20-dig plateau. As a team, the Wildcats totaled 18 blocks to stymie the Ferris State attack.

"Our seniors were tremendous tonight," Yoder said. "Chosa and Hogeboom were also spot on. There were many other contributions to the team's success. The fans made it all possible."

Northern Michigan returns to the court Tuesday when they face rival Michigan Tech in Houghton, Mich. at 7 p.m.