GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Northern Michigan University Volleyball defeated Davenport University 3-1 to open Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 2-0.

SET SCORES

Davenport won the first set 25-21 but the Wildcats rallied back to win the next three sets for the 3-1 win.

In the second set, the Panthers led 8-5 but NMU was able to bounce back to tie the score at 9-9, then added six more points to take a 15-9 lead. DU managed to pull within 15-13, but a four-point run from NMU made the difference and senior Sarah Kuehn (Green Bay, Wis.) sealed the 25-16 set win with a kill.

The third set opened with a 6-2 Wildcat lead. The hosts managed to reduce the lead to 9-8 but a 7-2 NMU run helped NMU cruise to a 25-15 set victory, capped by an ace from sophomore Lauren Caprini (St. Charles, Ill.).

NMU got the fourth set started with a 9-4 lead. DU rebounded to tie it at 13-13, and the two teams continued to trade points until it was 23-23 when freshman Abigail Durecki (South Lyon, Mich.) got the kill to make it 24-23. After getting the assist on Durecki's kill, freshman Lauren Van Remortel (Carmel, Ind.) set up sophomore Hailey Wickstrom (Calumet, Wis.) for the 25-23 match-winning kill. 

SCORING POINTS

Durecki and sophomore Lizzy Stark (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the way with 12 kills each while Wickstrom chipped in with 10. Durecki posted a hitting percentage of .476 and added three aces as well. 

Van Remortel finished the day with 36 assists.

ON THE DEFENSE

Caprini was the defensive team leader with 14 digs while Van Remortel posted nine. Sophomore Alli Yacko (Oak Lawn, Ill.) contributed eight with Stark and senior Cheyanna Pyka (Merrill, Wis.) both notching seven each. 

Kuehn finished the day with a total of seven blocks. Durecki tallied six while Wickstrom aided the effort with four.

UP NEXT

NMU moves to 5-5 on the season and opens GLIAC play at 2-0 while Davenport fell to 2-8 overall, 0-2 in the league. The Wildcats will now get set to visit rival Michigan Technological University on Tuesday night.