Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan Volleyball team, holding a 9-9 record in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), is set to compete as the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. They will face their rivals, Michigan Tech, who are seeded fourth. The quarterfinal match is scheduled for November 15 at 6 p.m. and will take place at the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton.

Northern Michigan has an overall record of 12-17 this season, while Michigan Tech stands at 14-15 with a 10-8 record against conference opponents.

This upcoming game marks the first postseason encounter between these two teams since Northern's victory over Michigan Tech for the GLIAC Championship in April 2021. Previously, in fall postseason play, Michigan Tech had swept Northern in the semifinals back in 2019.

Fans can follow updates from @NMU_Volleyball and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) during and leading up to the game.

Head Coach Mike Lozier commented on the team's readiness: "We've both proven that we can show up and compete with the best of them. We're poised and ready to compete at the highest level and I feel like it's gonna be a good battle."

Key players for Northern include Jacqueline Smith, ranked first in kills per set within GLIAC matches, Lauren Van Remortel ranked fifth in assists per set, Liesl Haugen fourth in digs per set, Meghan Meyer third with a .352 attack percentage and McKenzie Gruner sixth in solo blocks.

Michigan Tech's defense is led by Kaycee Meiners who leads GLIAC statistics across several blocking categories. Offensively Lindy Oujiri ranks sixth within GLIAC for kills.

Earlier this season Northern defeated Michigan Tech twice; once sweeping them away on their home court and later winning a five-set thriller at Marquette.

The quarterfinals of GLIAC Tournament will feature several other matchups including Grand Valley State vs Lake Superior State; Parkside vs Davenport; Ferris State vs Purdue Northwest all taking place across various campus sites before moving onto semifinals scheduled Saturday November 18 followed by championship round Sunday November 19 hosted by TBD locations.