Great Lakes Wire

Northern Michigan University's volleyball team has been ranked fourth in the 2025 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Poll, according to an announcement from the conference. The Wildcats finished third in the previous season with a 13-4 record in conference play.

Grand Valley State was selected as the favorite to win the league, receiving eight out of eleven first-place votes. Ferris State follows with three first-place votes, while Wayne State is ranked third. Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech complete the top five in the poll.

The full coaches' poll for 2025 lists Grand Valley State at the top with 98 points, followed by Ferris State (92), Wayne State (76), Northern Michigan (68), and Michigan Tech (67). Parkside, Davenport, Purdue Northwest, Saginaw Valley State, Lake Superior State, and Roosevelt round out the remaining teams.

After graduating five seniors—including all-time kills leader Jacqueline Smith—the Wildcats will see changes on their roster this year. Team captains Allie Barlow, McKenzie Gruner, and Helen Beiring are expected to lead efforts to adapt to these changes.

Senior middle blocker McKenzie Gruner returns after playing all 29 matches last season and earning recognition on the UP North Tournament All-Tournament Team. She recorded 224 kills and led her team with 57 total blocks last year.

Junior setter Allie Barlow was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team in 2024. She tallied 1,175 assists during that season—667 of them coming during conference play—and was recognized twice as GLIAC Setter of the Week. Barlow also had four matches with more than 50 assists each.

Junior libero Liesl Haugen received an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention for a second consecutive year after collecting a team-high 450 digs over all matches played last season. She was also named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week following her performance in week nine.

Juniors Helen Beiring and Kaysie Bakke are among several returning players who contributed over 100 kills each last season. Additional returners include Rayne Thompson, Madison York, KC Fortune, and Sydney Bartels.

Head coach Mike Lozier enters his ninth season leading Northern Michigan's program with a career record of 132-88 (.600). Kam Duffield continues as assistant coach for a third straight year while Lauren Van Remortel joins as an assistant coach for her first full season.

"We only have one home weekend in September and one more in October," Lozier said. "The hope is that you weather the storm early and just battle, battle, battle. I am really excited to unleash this new brand of NMU volleyball and I am 100% confident that we are going to give it our best shot every night…and I think our best shot is pretty good."

Northern Michigan opens its schedule at the SpringHill Suites Invitational in Pensacola, Florida from September 4–6 before playing ten road matches ahead of its home opener against Parkside on September 26.