HAMMOND, Ind. - The Northern Michigan volleyball team continued its winning ways on Friday night, defeating UIndy for its sixth straight win.

NMU's 61 kills was the second best they've recorded this year, only trailing the 62 they had against Findlay earlier in the day. 

As a team, the 'Cats hit .291, its fourth best mark of the season. The Wildcats had a balanced attack on offense, with Jacqueline Smith and Meghan Meyer each leading the way with 13 kills. Kaysie Bakke added 11, McKenzie Gruner another 10, Rayne Thompson recorded eight, and Allie Barlow chipped in another six. 

"Super proud of how the team persevered through some adversity in this match," said assistant Kamryn Duffield after the win.  "I want to give a big shoutout to our bench for bringing great energy and making a neutral site feel like home. Our offense stepped up firing on all cylinders and our defense was relentless."

Barlow recorded an impressive 48 assists in the four sets, bringing her total for the day to an even 100 with a career-high 52 earlier against Findlay. Liesl Haugen was strong defensively with 27 digs while Caylie Barlage added another 18.  

The early stages saw a lot of back and forth, but NMU went on a five-point run to pull away in the middle of the set en route to a 25-19 first set win. The 'Cats hit .351 in the frame. 

The offensive prowess continued with a 25-21 win in set two, hitting a nearly identical .353. The 'Cats created separation early on and didn't look back. 

The Greyhounds got the better of the Wildcats in set three with a 25-22 win, but Northern bounced right back with a match-sealing 25-21 win in the fourth. It was another impressive offensive showing as the Green and Gold hit .326. 

Northern is now 2-0 in the conference crossover, 13-4 on the season, winners of six straight, and 10 of the past 11. 


Up Next
Northern will play Rockhurst at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Hawks are 12-5 on the season and also boast a 2-0 record this weekend.