HAMMOND, Ind. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team split its first day at the Midwest Region Crossover, defeating the Lewis Flyers 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-20, and 25-20) before falling to Ohio Dominican in four sets (25-18, 13-25, 20-25, and 9-25).
Kaylie McIntosh led the Wildcats with 24 kills on the day, recording 12 in each match.
Anna O'Keefe added 20, and
Laynie Russell had 19.
Allie Barlow had 79 assists, and
Lauren Cardwell finished with 25 digs, leading the 'Cats in her first action at libero.
The Wildcats (10-10) will now take on the Findlay Oilers (11-8) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The Oilers were swept by Michigan Tech and then swept No. 22 Indianapolis on Friday.
Lewis
Northern opened the match with a strong offensive showing, jumping out to a 7-1 lead behind contributions from four different 'Cats. Lewis cut the deficit to 13-10, but Northern responded with a dominant stretch from
Laynie Russell to build a 19-12 advantage. The Wildcats hit .552 with 17 kills and just one attack error in the opening set, closing out a 25-16 win on a
KC Fortune kill. Russell led the way with seven kills on eight attempts, while
Anna O'Keefe added five on seven swings.
Lewis responded in the second set, building an early lead and maintaining a 10-6 advantage at an NMU timeout. Northern struggled to find its offensive rhythm, recording seven kills and a -.029 hitting percentage as the Flyers evened the match with a 25-18 win.
The Wildcats bounced back in the third, recording kills on their first seven points and nine of their first 10 to take control early. Northern extended its lead to 20-13 before Lewis mounted a late push, cutting the margin to three. O'Keefe answered with a key kill out of a timeout before Fortune finished the set, 25-20. Northern totaled 20 kills while hitting .372 to regain the match lead.
The fourth set featured the closest battle of the match, with the teams exchanging leads before a 4-0 Northern run put the Wildcats ahead 13-11. Lewis responded to keep things tight, but Barlow delivered back-to-back service aces late to extend Northern's lead to 22-18. Fortune brought the Wildcats to match point with a kill before Northern closed out the 25-20 set to secure the 3-1 victory.
Northern finished with 55 kills and a .270 hitting percentage, its second-best mark of the season, while Lewis recorded 53 kills. The Wildcats committed just four service errors compared to 15 for the Flyers. Russell led a balanced attack with 13 kills, followed by Fortune and
Kaylie McIntosh with 12 apiece and O'Keefe with 11. Barlow totaled 46 assists,
Lauren Cardwell recorded 14 digs in her first match at libero, and O'Keefe added four blocks.
"Really proud of how well the team handled some adversity in this first match!" said
Kamryn Duffield. "We did a great job being willing to make adjustments on the fly and finding ways to score. Allie did a great job distributing our offense as well. Great win for us against a quality opponent!"
Ohio Dominican
Northern fell behind early in the opening set but battled back to take control midway through, tying the score at 12 before earning its first lead at 14-13.
Kaylie McIntosh helped spark the comeback with four consecutive kills, and
KC Fortune added two service aces during a 5-0 run that pushed the Wildcats ahead 20-16. After trailing 16-15, Northern scored 10 of the final 12 points to claim the set 25-18, finishing with a .333 hitting percentage, four aces and two blocks.
The Panthers responded in the second, trading points with Northern early before an 8-0 run created separation at 18-9. The Wildcats used both timeouts during the stretch but could not slow the momentum, as Ohio Dominican closed out a 25-13 win to even the match.
Ohio Dominican carried that momentum into the third, building a 10-4 lead before another 7-0 run widened the gap to 14-4. The Panthers maintained control at 21-10, but Northern made a late push with a 9-2 run to pull within 23-19. The deficit proved too much to overcome, however, as Ohio Dominican closed out the set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers took control early once again in the fourth, using a 10-0 run to build a 13-2 advantage. Northern was unable to mount another comeback, as Ohio Dominican pulled away for a 25-9 win to take the match.
Ohio Dominican finished with a .366 hitting percentage compared to Northern's .191, controlling the final three sets after the Wildcats' strong start. McIntosh led Northern with 12 kills.
