MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team is set to host rival Michigan Tech on Tuesday, October 28, at 6 p.m. in Vandament Arena.
The Wildcats (9-12, 6-3) sit in fifth place in the GLIAC standings and are coming off a pair of five-set matches over the weekend, defeating Grand Valley State before falling to Wayne State. The Huskies (8-11, 5-4) sit right behind Northern in sixth and also split their matches last weekend against the Warriors and Lakers.
Northern has bested Tech in three straight matches, including a five-set thriller in Houghton earlier this month. NMU has also won five consecutive regular-season meetings with the Huskies.
The match can be streamed on FloCollege or listened to live on 100.3 The Point, with Brice Burge on the call. It will also air on tape delay on Thursday, October 30, at 7 p.m. on FoxUP in the new 'VB in 60' format, with Mark Evans and Dave Ellis on the call.
Follow the Action
Stay connected with @NMU_Wildcats and @NMU_Volleyball on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for updates throughout the match.
Tuesday, Oct. 28 - vs. Michigan Tech - 6 p.m.
Tickets |
Watch |
Live Stats |
Listen
About the Wildcats
The Wildcats delivered another thrilling weekend of volleyball at Vandament Arena, splitting a pair of five-set battles. On Friday, Northern Michigan outlasted Grand Valley State in an electric 25-23, 26-24, 17-25, 23-25, 15-12 victory. The Wildcats dominated at the net with a season-high 15 blocks, five more than their previous best and their highest total since 2017.
Kaylie McIntosh (15),
Kaysie Bakke (14), and
McKenzie Gruner (13) paced a balanced attack, while
Allie Barlow dished out 48 assists to fuel the offense.
Less than 24 hours later, NMU found themselves in another five-set thriller, this time falling 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 9-25, and 15-17 to Wayne State. The back-and-forth contest featured 21 ties and nine lead changes, with the Wildcats twice serving for match point in the decisive fifth.
Madison York led the offense with a career-high 18 kills, Gruner added 13, and Barlow tallied 47 assists and four aces.
Liesl Haugen anchored the defense with 24 digs.
Gruner continues to lead the offense with 217 kills. She paces conference play with a .374 hitting percentage and ranks 10th with 3.17 kills per set. York (164), McIntosh (158),
Kaysie Bakke (140), and
Emilia Gulock (116) have all eclipsed 100 kills, each posting multiple double-digit kill outings. McIntosh recorded an NMU season-high 19 kills with only two errors in the team's first meeting with Tech. Barlow has played a key role in the balanced attack, as her 9.78 assists per set rank fourth in the GLIAC.
Defensively, Haugen has been one of the most reliable back-row players in the conference. The two-time GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week ranks third with 4.9 digs per set. She has recorded at least 20 digs in half of her matches this season (8 of 16), including a 38-dig performance against the Huskies, the top single-match mark in the GLIAC this year.
About the Huskies
Michigan Tech sits just one game behind the Wildcats in the GLIAC standings. Jacqueline Yancy has proven to be one of the league's biggest offensive threats, leading all players with 3.96 kills per set. She has totaled 178 kills this season, while Rachel Zurek leads the team with 201. Zurek, along with Madalyn Torola, each had 18 kills against NMU in their first meeting. Averaging a block per set, Paige Wagner ranks third overall in the GLIAC and presents another threat at the net for the Huskies.
