FAYETTE, Iowa — The Northern Michigan volleyball team opened the Peacock Open with a 3-1 win over St. Cloud State Friday afternoon at Dorman Gymnasium in front of 120 fans. 

"The team fought very hard today," head coach Dominic Yoder said. "It was good to open the Peacock Open with a win."

After pulling out a tight 28-26 victory in the first set, the Wildcats dropped the second, 25-17. They regrouped to win the next two, 25-22 and 25-23, to move to 4-1 (0-0 GLIAC) on the season.

Madison Whitehead led both teams with 12 kills. She also posted a team-best hitting percentage of .346 and two block assists.

Kayla Chosa and Anna Aycock combined to thwart the Husky attack, posting five solo blocks and seven block assists.

"Madison had a breakout performance today," Yoder said. "Our middle defense, particularly Kayla and Anna, was also very good."

As a team, Northern Michigan posted a .121 hitting percentage and limited St. Cloud State to a .114 percentage.

The Wildcats return to the court tonight when they take on tournament host Upper Iowa at 8 p.m.