Great Lakes Wire

Senior outside hitter Jacqueline Smith has set a new record for Northern Michigan University (NMU) volleyball, surpassing a mark that had stood for over three decades. Smith became the all-time kills leader in NMU's 3-1 victory against Lake Superior State University (LSSU) on Saturday evening.

Smith achieved 22 kills during the match, marking her second time this season exceeding 20 kills. She needed nine kills to break the previous record of 1,664 held by Andrea Gommans since 1993. Smith managed seven kills in the first set and added two more early in the second set to achieve this milestone.

"I am very proud of how our team battled today and yesterday," said Smith after securing the win. "We were challenged in the second set both days but we rose to it and showed that we can get the job done!"

Helen Beiring also contributed significantly with 10 kills, reaching double figures for only the second time in her career. Allie Barlow provided 44 assists while Liesl Haugen led defensively with 18 digs.

The Wildcats started strong with a quick lead of 6-1 in the first set. Although LSSU narrowed the gap, NMU maintained their advantage and won the first set decisively at 25-16, outpacing LSSU in kills by a margin of eight.

In contrast, LSSU took an early lead of 6-1 in the second set and extended it to eight points at one stage. However, NMU fought back to tie at 19 before LSSU secured a narrow victory at 25-23.

Northern Michigan responded strongly in the third set, quickly establishing a lead of four points which they expanded to double digits at 16-6. They eventually closed out this set comfortably with a scoreline of 25-15 following a decisive kill from Meghan Meyer.

The final set saw competitive exchanges between both teams until NMU broke away with a four-point lead at 16-12. Despite LSSU's efforts to close within two points, NMU sealed their victory by winning five consecutive points ending again with another Meyer kill for a final score of 25-18.

With this win, NMU improved its season record to nine wins against four losses overall and five wins against one loss within conference play while hitting .283 compared to LSSU’s .164.

Next weekend marks end of Wildcats' six-game homestand as they host Michigan Tech on Thursday followed by Roosevelt on Friday.