MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Wildcats of NMU Volleyball are gearing up for another exciting weekend of play, with a lot of buzz and palpable energy around the team and community leading up to the home opener and debut of the new Vandament Arena on Thursday.

Thursday's home match will take place at 5 p.m. against Findlay. A rededication ceremony will precede the match at 3 p.m., with all welcome to attend. In addition, a commemorative rally towel will be handed out at the entrance to the Vandament ahead of the match.

The match will be the first of three for NMU this weekend, with the other two matches taking place in Houghton for the UP Open hosted by Michigan Tech. Northern Michigan will face two national powerhouses in Houghton,  starting with No. 14 Minnesota Duluth at 3 p.m. on Friday and ending with No. 7 St. Cloud State on Saturday at 10 a.m. 


Follow the Action
Follow @NMU_Volleyball and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates throughout the weekend's matches.

Thursday, September 12 - vs. Findlay at 5 p.m. ET
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Friday, September 13 - vs. No. 14 Minnesota Duluth at 3 p.m ET
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Saturday, September 14 - vs. No. 7 St. Cloud State at 10 a.m. ET
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A Word from Mike Lozier
"The excitement and anticipation going into this match is palpable. We want to make sure we put on a show for these fans in the first match in Vandament. The girls are really excited and we want to perform against a regional opponent."



Last Weekend
The Green and Gold opened its season at the Maverick Invite in Minnesota, going 3-1. NMU opened with a sweep of Minnesota State Moorhead and followed that with a five-set thrilling win over Truman State. The next day, the Wildcats swept Upper Iowa and then fell to host Minnesota State in five sets in the Invite finale. Jacqueline Smith recorded an impressive 68 kills over the four matches, including a career-best 27 against Truman. Allie Barlow had 163 assists on the weekend and Meghan Meyer had a .391 attack percentage. 


Cat Nips

• NMU went 12-18 a year ago, finishing conference play in 5th at 9-9. 
• Within the lines, the Green and Gold returns plenty of firepower and will be a contender for the conference crown come March. Headlined by four-time All-GLIAC First Teamer Jacqueline Smith, the Wildcats return nearly 80% of their set-time from a season ago.
• Smith will look to make history this season for NMU, as her current 1,539 career kills are second in program history, just 125 back of Andrea Gommans' 1,664. Smith's mark of 1,539 is also second across the Division II landscape of active players, only trailing the 1,548 from Kenzie Foley of St. Cloud State. Smith and Foley will face off on Saturday and each enter the weekend with 68 kills each this year.  
• Joining Smith along the net is another four-time All-GLIAC honoree in Meghan Meyer. The 6' middle blocker has been as consistent as they come over her four seasons, posting an impressive .351 career attack percentage. She will also be looking to reach the 1,000 career kill milestone this year, currently sitting at 880. 
• NMU will also look to sophomores Liesl Haugen at libero and Allie Barlow at setter for significant contributions after impressive freshmen campaigns. Haugen was named an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention last season in which she totaled 412 digs and ranked second in the GLIAC with 5.07 digs per set. Barlow made nine starts last year, recording 297 assists with a 8.03 assist/set average. She has 163 assists after the first weekend this year, a top-20 mark nationally. 
• Eleven other returners will look to take a leap into a bigger role for the 'Cats, as well as five newcomers fresh to the fold to round out the 20-player squad, the biggest team head coach Mike Lozier has had. 
• The Wildcats also welcomed back former setter Lauren Van Remortel as a new addition to the 2024 coaching staff.  

Notes on the Opponents
Findlay 
A year ago, Findlay was 23-8 a year ago and the Oilers started its season with a 3-0 record at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament at Clarion last weekend. The team has a balanced offensive attack, with Hannah Miller (47), Kenzie Hoelscher (38), Alana Pohlman (28) and Grace Auer (23) contributing 20+ kills in its first three matches.

Emma White has been the best setter in the country over the first weekend, as her 12.60 assists/set lead the nation. She has recorded 126 this year after more than 1,200 in each of her first two seasons. 

Through three matches, the Oilers are second nationally in hitting percentage (.375), kills/set (15.70), and assists/set (14.70). 


Minnesota Duluth
No. 14 Duluth has started its season 4-0 with a pair of sweeps. The Bulldogs are a perennial powerhouse and went 18-11 a year ago. Led by senior Samantha Paulsen with 46 kills and Cianna Selbitschka with 36, UMD has contributions from several others as setters Maddi Kealy and Ava Jones have spread the ball around the offense so far this season.

The Bulldogs are fourth in the country after the first weekend in hitting percentage (.352). 


St. Cloud State
No. 7 SCSU had one of the most impressive opening weekends in the country, playing four nationally ranked teams and going 3-1. The Huskies fell to No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona 3-0 in the opener but bounced back with wins over #12 Chaminade (3-1) and No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino (3-1). To close out its weekend, SCSU recorded a 3-1 victory over No. 1 and reigning national champion Cal State LA.

The Huskies are led by active career kills leader Kenzie Foley with 68 on the season and 1,548 for her career. The team has also received 43 kills from Ella Thompson and 143 assists from Emma Berran. SCSU ranks 16th in the country in hitting percentage (.301).