MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan volleyball team picked up a four–set win over the Purdue Northwest Lions on Saturday.
The Wildcats won the opening set 25-20 and followed it with a decisive 25-16 win in the second. The Lions bounced back with a tight 25-22 victory in the third, but Northern slammed the door in the fourth with a 25-16 win.
Northern hit .270 on the match, more than doubling up the .134 from the Lions.
KC Fortune led the way with 15 kills, followed by 12 from
Kaylie McIntosh and 10 from
Anna O'Keefe. PNW's Anika Huelskamp led all players with 20 kills.
NMU tied a season-high with 11 aces.
Allie Barlow led the way with four and now leads all GLIAC players with 44 on the season.
Taylor Smaka chipped in three, all coming on a key run in the fourth set. Barlow also led the Wildcats with 43 assists while Fortune had a team-high 12 digs.
Northern improved to 11-12 overall and 7-5 in the GLIAC, while the Lions fells to 6-16 overall and 3-9 in league play.
How it Happened
The Wildcats came out firing in the opening set, using a 5-0 run highlighted by three aces from
Allie Barlow to establish an early advantage. PNW answered with four straight points to take a 10-8 lead, and the teams traded points through the middle of the set. Back-to-back kills from
Anna O'Keefe and
KC Fortune helped NMU force a Lions timeout with an 18-16 lead.
With the score at 20-19, the Wildcats took control with four consecutive points before
Kaylie McIntosh delivered the set-winning kill, securing a 25-20 victory. NMU hit .385 in the opener and recorded four aces.
The Lions opened the second set with a 3-0 lead, but Northern quickly responded and took control. The Wildcats built a 14-10 advantage to force a Lions timeout, then continued to pull away as their lead reached 21-15. Aces from
Laynie Russell and Barlow helped set up set point, and NMU closed out the 25-16 win while hitting .333 to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Lions responded in the third, turning an early 4-2 NMU advantage into a 9-6 lead with a 7-2 run that forced a Wildcats timeout. PNW stretching the lead to 17-11 and prompting a second NMU timeout. The Wildcats battled back, scoring three straight points to cut the deficit to 19-17, but Purdue Northwest held on to take the set 25-22 and extend the match.
Northern answered emphatically in the fourth, opening with a 3-1 lead before extending the advantage to 9-3. The Lions chipped away, but the Wildcats maintained control at 15-10 midway through the set.
Taylor Smaka then delivered three consecutive aces to spark a decisive run and push NMU's lead to 19-11. Three straight kills from three different Wildcats brought the team within two points of victory at 23-13, and
Larsen Bonnstetter finished the match with a powerful kill to seal the 25-16 set win and a 3-1 victory for Northern.
Up Next
The Wildcats are back home for Halloween weekend, welcoming Grand Valley State on Friday and Wayne State for Senior Day on Saturday.
