Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan volleyball team secured its sixth consecutive victory on Friday night by defeating UIndy. The match, held in Hammond, Indiana, showcased a strong performance from the Wildcats.

Northern Michigan achieved 61 kills, their second-highest tally this year, following a 62-kill game against Findlay earlier in the day. The team registered a hitting percentage of .291, marking their fourth-best performance of the season. Jacqueline Smith and Meghan Meyer led with 13 kills each, while Kaysie Bakke added 11. McKenzie Gruner contributed 10 kills, Rayne Thompson recorded eight, and Allie Barlow had six.

"Super proud of how the team persevered through some adversity in this match," said assistant Kamryn Duffield after the win. "I want to give a big shoutout to our bench for bringing great energy and making a neutral site feel like home. Our offense stepped up firing on all cylinders and our defense was relentless."

Barlow also made significant contributions with 48 assists across four sets, bringing her total for the day to an even 100 after achieving a career-high of 52 against Findlay earlier. Liesl Haugen was defensively strong with 27 digs while Caylie Barlage added another 18.

The match began with back-and-forth play until NMU went on a five-point run to secure a first-set win at 25-19 with a .351 hitting percentage. They continued their offensive momentum into set two with a score of 25-21 and nearly identical hitting at .353.

Although UIndy took set three at 25-22, Northern Michigan responded by winning the fourth set at 25-21 with an impressive .326 hitting percentage.

Northern Michigan now holds a record of 2-0 in conference crossover play and is currently standing at 13-4 for the season. They have won six straight matches and ten out of their last eleven.

Next up for Northern is Rockhurst at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday; Rockhurst has also maintained an undefeated record this weekend at 2-0 and stands at 12-5 for the season.