Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University volleyball team achieved a weekend sweep by defeating Saginaw Valley State for the second time this season. The Wildcats did not allow the Cardinals to surpass 20 points in any set, securing victory with scores of 25-19, 25-15, and 25-17. This win marks their second consecutive sweep and extends their streak to nine set victories.

Northern Michigan concluded the regular season with a record of 19-8 overall and a 13-4 conference record, earning them the No. 3 seed in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament. They are set to face the No. 6 seed Parkside Rangers on Wednesday, November 20, at Vandament Arena.

In Saturday's match, NMU recorded 43 kills with a season-high hitting percentage of .374. Jacqueline Smith led with 13 kills, matching her performance from the previous day against Lake Superior State University (LSSU). Kaysie Bakke contributed ten kills, while Meghan Meyer and Madison York each added six.

Allie Barlow supported the Wildcats' offense with 39 assists and also contributed defensively with two blocks and seven digs. McKenzie Gruner added three blocks and five kills.

"As a staff, we are super pleased with how our athletes competed this weekend," said Sarah Kuehn following the victory. "They held themselves to a high standard yesterday and today earning both sweeps, and everyone is contributing. We are feeling good about how we are playing right now which is exactly what every coach wants going into postseason play. I'm very proud of our athletes and excited for next week."

The Wildcats limited themselves to nine attacking errors during the match compared to Saginaw Valley's 17 errors. Northern also restricted SVSU to an opponent season-low of 37 digs.

Saginaw Valley recorded a total of 28 kills on 91 attacks for a match hitting percentage of .121. Sarah Veale contributed nine kills along with one service ace and six digs as part of SVSU's effort that included 26 assists.

With these victories concluding regular-season play, Northern Michigan will now focus on the conference tournament starting with the GLIAC Quarterfinals against Parkside Rangers on November 20 in Marquette.