MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan volleyball team is set for another weekend of conference play, coming off of a weekend sweep in its opening GLIAC matches this past weekend. The Wildcats will continue forward with matches against Davenport on Friday at 6:30 p.m., and Ferris State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
This will be the second weekend of play at home in the new Vandament Arena. The 'Cats currently hold a 6-3 overall record, winners of its last three, and a 2-0 conference record.
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Follow @NMU_Volleyball and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates throughout the weekend.
Friday, September 27 - vs. Davenport at 6:30 p.m.
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Saturday, September 28 - vs. Ferris State at 3:30 p.m.
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A Word from Sarah Kuehn
"We came off of tournament play feeling really good. We played some tough opponents and we got what we needed out of non-conference play. Growth has been a big part of our season so far and we're going to continue to see that growth."
Cat Nips
- Meghan Meyer was recently named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week. Meyer helped lead the Wildcats to a pair of road wins over Parkside and Purdue Northwest. She recorded nine blocks last weekend, including five solo. Meyer rejected six attacks against Parkside, a season-high and just one off of her career-best performance. She was also a stalwart on offense, reaching double-digit kills in both contests, with a season-high 14 kills against Purdue Northwest and a .643 attack percentage at Parkside, the second-best mark across the league over the weekend.
- Over her career, Meyer has an impressive .349 attack percentage. She will also be looking to reach the 1,000 career kill milestone this year, currently sitting at 915.
- Jacqueline Smith leads the Wildcats with 131 kills, which is good for 4th in the conference. She is closing in on history, as her current 1,602 career kills are second in program history, just 62 back of Andrea Gommans' 1,664. Her 27 kills against Truman State marked a career-high and is a single-match high in the GLIAC this season. Smith's career mark of 1,602 kills is also second across the Division II landscape of active players, only trailing the 1,659 from Kenzie Foley of St. Cloud State.
- Another player that the Wildcats will continue to look to is McKenzie Gruner, who is second on the team in kills and points/set behind Smith. She has recorded 84 kills on the season and is averaging 2.64 points/set.
- Allie Barlow is tied for the GLIAC lead with 18 service aces. She is also second across the conference landscape with 350 assists.
- Northern Michigan is on a current three-game winning streak, which started with a five-set thriller over No. 7 St. Cloud State on September 14. In the match, the Wildcat front line totaled 14 blocks, the most in a match since the 2017 season.
- NMU's roster consists of 15 returners. Five newcomers have been added to the fold to round out the 20-player squad, the biggest team head coach Mike Lozier has had.
Notes on the Opponents
Davenport
The Panthers currently hold a 2-8 overall record and 0-2 in conference play. The team is fifth in the conference in blocks/set (1.80). Abby Alan (107) and Rachel Youngblood (91) lead the team in kills, while Hayley Carr's 148 digs rank third in the conference.
The two teams split their meetings last year, with the Wildcats winning 3-2 in Marquette and the Panthers taking a 3-1 victory in Grand Rapids.
Ferris State
The No. 7 nationally-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs are currently 9-0 this season, and 2-0 in conference play. In the AVCA preseason poll, the Bulldogs ranked eighteenth nationally, returning the 2023 GLIAC setter of the year Kaylee Maat, along with the reigning GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year Olivia Henneman-Dallape, who is 9th in the country in kills/set (4.58).
Henneman-Dallape has been named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week all three weeks this season while Kaylee Maat has collected Setter honors in two of the three weeks.
The team is also currently holding the first place position within the GLIAC in areas such as assists/set (12.55), digs/set (15.94), kills/set (14.13), and hitting percentage (.273). Nationally, the Bulldogs are 13th in hitting percentage and 15th in kills/set.
NMU lost in three sets in both matches with the Bulldogs a season ago.
