Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University women's volleyball team was defeated by Adelphi University in straight sets during their first match at the Husky Volleyball Invitational in St. Cloud, Minnesota. This marked the first meeting between the two programs.

Northern Michigan recorded 35 kills with a .208 hitting percentage, while Adelphi posted 41 kills and a .216 percentage. Senior McKenzie Gruner led the Wildcats with 12 kills. Adelphi's Macarty McQueen also finished with 12 kills for the Panthers. Defensively, Lauren Cardwell led NMU with a career-high 15 digs.

At the net, NMU matched its season-high with seven blocks. Gruner contributed 2.5 blocks and Rayne Thompson added two more. However, Adelphi made a significant impact from the service line, registering 13 aces compared to just two for Northern Michigan.

With this loss, Northern Michigan's record fell to 1-5 for the season while Adelphi improved to 2-4.

The match began with an early run by Adelphi before NMU responded through contributions from freshman Kaylie McIntosh and senior Gruner, briefly taking a lead at 5-4. The Panthers then went on an extended run to take control of the first set and ultimately secured it 25-17.

In the second set, NMU started strong but was overtaken by Adelphi after a quick run and consistent serving performance that included five aces in each of the first two sets. Despite some rallies from NMU out of timeouts, Adelphi closed out the set 25-20.

The third set saw another competitive start from Northern Michigan with contributions from McIntosh, Thompson, and Bartels. After tying at 12-12 midway through the frame, another late push by Adelphi created separation. Following timeouts by both teams late in the set, Adelphi finished off both the set (25-20) and match with three consecutive points including their final ace.

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