HAMMOND, Ind. - The Northern Michigan volleybal team defeated Cedarville in four sets to open the day on Saturday, and then fell to Missouri S&T in straight sets, finishing the Midwest Crossover at 2-1. 

Northern was one of four GLIAC squads to finish the tournament with a winning mark. Overall, the Wildcats now sit at 7-13 returning to GLIAC play next weekend.

Jacqueline Smith (21, 12, and 13) and Meghan Meyer (14, 11, and 10) each hit double-digit kills in each match of the tournament. 


How It Happened - vs. Cedarville
Facing an early 9-4 deficit in the first set, the Wildcats clawed back in it with 12 of the following 15 points, including a stretch of seven straight. Jacqueline Smith had it going for the Green and Gold early, notching five kills to kickstart the run to get back and leap ahead of the Yellow Jackets. The 'Cats turned to Angelina Negron down the stretch to close out the opening set 25-22, as she added five spikes into the enemy court. 

NMU faced a similar hole in set two at 3-0, but rattled off the following six points backed by three aces from Smith to double up Cedarville, 6-3. The 'Cats proceeded to use a balanced attack to finish out the set, getting kills from Smith, Negron, Evynn Layshock, Meghan Meyer, and Ania Hyatt to win 25-19. 

After leading 4-2 early in the third, the Yellow Jackets put together its biggest run of the set, six straight, reversing roles from the previous two sets to take the lead after trailing. Looking at a 16-12 deficit, Northern scored nine of the next 10 to take a lead with Negron connecting on a string of four aces to go up by four, 21-17. Cedarville ended up battling back to take the set 26-24 and stay alive in the match. 

Seven consecutive points from Cedarville in the fourth put NMU in another early-set deficit. The Wildcats chipped away, pulling with even at 18-18 following six points in a row. Facing set point for Cedarville trailing 24-23, NMU ended the match with the final three points, with kills from Negron and Layshock. 


How It Happened - vs. Missouri S&T
Missouri S&T jumped out ahead 3-0 in the first and despite a couple briefs leads throughout the set for Northern, the Miners ended the first playing with set point on four occasions, ultimately sealing the set 25-22 over NMU. 

The second set was a wire-to-wire 25-21 victory for the Miners, leading by as many as seven. The final set read much of the same for Northern, with Missouri S&T winning 25-16 without relinquishing the lead. 


Up Next
The Wildcats return to GLIAC action, but remain on the road, taking on the Wayne State Warriors on Friday, October 20, at 7 p.m.