MARQUETTE, Mich. - After two weekends of non-conference tournament play to open the season, the Northern Michigan volleyball team will now shift focus to more familiar opponents, opening up the GLIAC schedule with a trip to Parkside on Friday, September 20, and Purdue Northwest on Saturday, September 21.  

The Wildcats (4-3) will make its first stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Green and Gold will match up with the Rangers (4-4) in the conference opener on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. NMU will then have a short turnaround, heading to Hammond, Indiana to contend the Pride of Purdue Northwest (2-5) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. 


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

Friday, September 20 - vs. at Parkside at 7 p.m. ET
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Saturday, September 21 - at Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m ET
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A Word from Mike Lozier
"Our program is always pushing to win championships. The only way you can be adequately prepared to win a championship is to play really good competition. These early season tournaments were designed for that."



Last Weekend
Northern faced three perennial NCAA Tournament teams last weekend. The Wildcats first fell to Findlay in three sets in the debut of the new Vandament Arena. NMU traveled to Houghton to finish off the weekend, dropping a four-set decision to No. 14 Minnesota Duluth before knocking off No. 7 St. Cloud State in a five-set thriller. 

McKenzie Gruner was named to the Up North Tournament All-Tournament Team. She posted 39 kills on a .471 attack percentage over the three matches, including a career-high 15 in the upset victory over St. Cloud. She also contributed 8 blocks. 

Jacqueline Smith also added double-digit kills in all three contests. Helen Beiring notched a career-high 12 kills in the final match of the weekend against SCSU. 


Cat Nips

• 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 1,580 career kills are second in program history, less than 100 back of Andrea Gommans' 1,664. Smith's mark of 1,580 is also second across the Division II landscape of active players, only trailing the 1,615 from Kenzie Foley of St. Cloud State.
• Smith is currently top-50 in the country this season in kills (109) and kills/set (3.8). 
• 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 891.
• 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 247 assists after two weekends.
• 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. 

Notes on the Opponents
Parkside
The Rangers enter conference play at 4-4, going 3-1 this past weekend. Parkside also played at the Minnesota State Tournament to start the year, going 1-3. Ava Irvin (123) and Sam Fisch (115) have both been impressive on the attack with over 100 kills. They currently rank first and third in the conference in the category. Karlee Lois leads the GLIAC with 303 assists. 

The Rangers are first in the GLIAC with 362 total assists. They are also first in service aces (61) and total kills (396). UWP ranks third in assists/set (12.07) and hitting percentage (.223).


Purdue Northwest
PNW enters the weekend at 2-5, dropping its last four. They are led offensively by Arra Cottrell with 82 kills, followed by Marina Gronkiewicz with 63. Both Olivia Brooke (119) and Gronkiewicz (112) see time as the setter. Gronkiewicz was recently named to the Hillsdale Invitational All-Tournament Team. 

As a team, the Pride are hitting .188. Defensively, Purdue Northwest has totaled 41 blocks, largely led by 6'3" freshman middle blocker Kennedy Rowzee with 25.