ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team faced a challenging day on Friday at the Husky Volleyball Invitational, falling in straight sets in both matches of a doubleheader against Adelphi University and No. 10 St. Cloud State.
Despite the tough outcomes, the Wildcats showcased strong efforts.
Lauren Cardwell totaled 29 digs on the day, including a career-best 15 in the opening match.
McKenzie Gruner led the team with 15 kills and 7.5 blocks, while freshman
Kaylie McIntosh added nine kills, including a season-high six in the morning match against Adelphi.
Northern recorded 16 team blocks but gave up 22 aces and 11 blocks on the day.
Match 1: Adelphi 3, Northern Michigan 0 (17-25, 20-25, 20-25)
In the first-ever meeting with Adelphi, the Wildcats were unable to overcome the Panthers' serving and net presence. Northern finished with 35 kills on a .208 hitting percentage, while Adelphi tallied 41 kills with a slightly better .216 attack clip. Gruner paced NMU with 12 kills, and Cardwell anchored the defense with a career-high 15 digs. At the net, the Wildcats totaled seven blocks, led by Gruner (2.5) and
Rayne Thompson (2.0). Adelphi's dominant serving, with 13 aces compared to Northern's two, proved decisive.
The Panthers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first set before NMU responded with a kill from McIntosh. Gruner then helped swing momentum with a kill and back-to-back blocks, pushing Northern ahead 5-4. Adelphi answered with an 11-3 run to take control at 15-8, and despite a late block from
Madison York and
Emilia Gulock, the Panthers closed out the first set 25-17 backed by five aces.
The Wildcats showed fight in the second set, taking a 5-3 lead early on after kills from McIntosh and
Sydney Bartels, and an ace from
Kaysie Bakke, to push Northern ahead 6-3. Adelphi responded with a 4-0 run to retake the lead, and while Northern mounted a late rally, pulling within one at 17-16, Adelphi captured five of the final seven points to take the set 25-20. Gruner and Thompson each had four kills in the frame, and the Panthers again relied heavily on their serve, notching five aces in the set.
In the third, Northern opened with a kill from McIntosh, followed by a block from Thompson and an ace from Bartels to take a brief 5-4 lead. The Wildcats evened the score at 12-12 after a 3-0 run that included a Thompson/Gruner block, but Adelphi closed the set on a 5-2 run, finishing with 13 total aces to secure a 3-0 sweep.
Match 2: St. Cloud State 3, Northern Michigan 0 (13-25, 20-25, 14-25)
In the afternoon match against No. 10 and host St. Cloud State, Northern faced another NCAA Tournament team from a season ago. The Wildcats recorded a season-high nine blocks, paced by Gruner's five rejections, while York added six kills, Bakke contributed four, and four additional players tallied three each. St. Cloud State was led by Shelby Kimm with nine kills and Emilie Planert with seven kills and four blocks.
Northern struck first in the opening set with a block from Gulock and McIntosh, followed by kills from York and McIntosh to take a 3-0 lead. The Huskies answered with a seven-point run and maintained control to take the set 25-13. Northern was limited offensively, while St. Cloud outhit Northern .333 to -.091 and recorded four service aces to gain the decisive edge.
The second set started well for Northern, with Gulock opening with a kill and Bakke delivering an ace to help give the Wildcats a 6-3 lead. St. Cloud gradually claimed its first lead at 8-7, then rattled off seven of the next eight points to force a Northern timeout. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 17-16, but the Huskies captured five of the final seven points to win 25-20. Gulock led Northern with three kills in the frame.
In the third set, each team posted a 3-0 run early, but a second 3-0 streak from the Huskies pushed them ahead 13-8. Bakke contributed a pair of kills to keep Northern within striking distance, but St. Cloud closed strongly, winning 25-14 and completing a 3-0 sweep.
Season Update and Up Next
Northern Michigan fell to 1-6 on the season after the doubleheader, while Adelphi improved to 2-4 and St. Cloud State moved to 4-2. The Wildcats will look to regroup and build on strong blocking and offensive contributions with their next match at Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, September 13, at 1 p.m. ET.
