Trailing 2-1 in sets, the Northern Michigan volleyball team rallied to defeat Findlay in a five-set match at the Midwest Regional Crossover Tournament. The scores were 16-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-16, and 17-15. This victory improved the Wildcats' record to 12-4 for the season.
Assistant coach Sarah Kuehn expressed pride in the team's performance: "As a staff we are so proud of how our team competed this afternoon," she said. "We were motivated going into the match knowing we didn't give them our best when we played them at home back on September 12th."
Allie Barlow had a standout game with a personal best of 52 assists. Jacqueline Smith contributed significantly with 24 kills on a .380 hitting percentage. Rayne Thompson also made an impact with ten kills on a .400 percentage. Overall, Northern Michigan hit .245 compared to Findlay's .150.
Defensively, Liesl Haugen recorded 25 digs while Smith added another 15. Julia Bouma and Caylie Barlage each contributed eleven digs.
The Wildcats set season highs in both kills (62) and assists (56), while their total of 78 digs was their second-highest this season.
In earlier stages of play, NMU initially led but lost momentum as Findlay took control to win the first set. However, NMU responded strongly in the second set with a dominant performance leading from start to finish.
Findlay claimed victory again in the third set despite NMU's efforts to close deficits throughout play; however, NMU secured wins during both fourth and fifth sets due largely due effective attacks by key players like Smith or Gruner among others which helped seal their comeback win against Findlay.
Next up for Northern Michigan is another tournament game against University of Indianapolis Greyhounds scheduled later tonight at eight p.m Eastern Time.
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