Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan volleyball team secured a decisive victory over Lake Superior State on Friday evening, winning in straight sets with scores of 25-14, 25-20, and 25-9. This marks Northern's first sweep since September 20 at Parkside.

Northern Michigan maintained control throughout the match, only briefly trailing during the second set. The win improves their record to 18-8 overall and 12-4 in conference play, while Lake Superior State falls to 7-19 overall and 2-13 in conference.

Jacqueline Smith led Northern with 13 kills, supported by contributions from six other players. The team achieved a hitting percentage of .253 and outperformed Lake Superior State in service aces (10-3) and total blocks (6-2). Allie Barlow excelled at the service line with four aces.

Defensively, Northern held Lake Superior State to season lows in several categories: kills (27), hitting percentage (.038), assists (25), and total blocks (2). Liesl Haugen added 12 kills and McKenzie Gruner contributed three blocks for Northern.

"I am very proud of this team," said head coach Mike Lozier. "It has been awhile since we got a 3-0 sweep, and to do it in convincing fashion was great. The weekend isn't over though, and we have a job to do tomorrow."

In the opening set, tied at 9-9, NMU pulled away by scoring six of the next seven points. They concluded the set with multiple scoring runs while limiting Lake Superior State's ability to score consecutively. NMU hit .121 compared to LSSU's -.121 due to LSSU's ten attack errors.

During the second set, NMU overcame a brief deficit after a run by Lake Superior State but regained control with a series of consecutive points. An Allie Barlow play led to set point at 24-20 before McKenzie Gruner sealed it with a kill for a final score of 25-20.

The third set saw NMU dominate early on with an extended run that widened their lead significantly. Meghan Meyer ended the set swiftly with an ace for a final score of 25-9.

Looking ahead, NMU will face Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, November 16 at 3 p.m., concluding regular season play before entering the GLIAC Tournament next Wednesday.