DETROIT - The Northern Michigan volleyball team fell in straight sets on Saturday evening at Wayne State, 16-25, 23-25, and 23-25. 

The Warriors opened the match with the first four points and didn't look back, taking set one 25-16 behind a .417 hitting percentage and an 18-9 kills advantage. 

NMU got out on the right foot in set two leading 4-1 and continued to build the lead, up by as many as seven at 17-10. Leading 21-16, the Warriors scored five straight to tie the score. The teams exchanged points until WSU scored the final three points to take the set two victory, 25-23. NMU hit .355 in the set with 14 kills from seven players, including five with multiple kills, but couldn't overcome three aces from the Warriors. 
 
Like the first, the Warriors opened the third with a 4-0 lead, but NMU fought back to tie the score 6-6. The Warriors responded to that run to lead 17-11, but the Wildcat trio of Rayne Thompson, Jacqueline Smith, and Olivia Webber combined for 14 kills in the final set to close the gap to 24-23. Working with set point, WSU's Kayla Giroux got one of her game-high 16 kills to close out the match with another 25-23 win. 

Smith led Northern with 12 kills, while Allie Barlow dished out 33 assists and Caylie Barlage recorded nine digs on the defensive end. NMU hit .263 in the match to WSU's .378, the second-best output against the 'Cats this season. 

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 13-7, 7-3 while the Warriors improved to 10-10, 7-3. 


Up Next
The Wildcats will have a busy week ahead with three matches, starting with a trip to Michigan Tech on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before returning home against Purdue Northwest and Parkside for the final home matches of the regular season.