Great Lakes Wire

Northern Michigan University's women's volleyball team faced No. 17 Barry University on Friday at the Husky Volleyball Invitational in St. Cloud, Minnesota, falling in straight sets (21-25, 15-25, 17-25). This marked the Wildcats' fifth consecutive match against a team that competed in last season's NCAA Tournament.

The contest was a rematch of the 1995 NCAA National Championship game between the two programs. Barry University's roster featured five players who matched or exceeded Northern Michigan's tallest athlete, contributing to a significant advantage at the net. Barry finished with a .386 hitting percentage and led in blocks by a margin of 7-1. Veronika Eremeeva led all players with 14 kills and four service aces.

Madison York led Northern Michigan with 11 kills and hit .304 for the match. Kaysie Bakke added nine kills, while setter Allie Barlow recorded a double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs. Libero Liesl Haugen contributed eight digs for the Wildcats, who as a team posted a .177 hitting percentage along with four service aces and 34 digs.

The first set saw both teams trading points early before Barry took control with a six-point run to lead 15-9. Northern responded but could not close the gap, dropping the set despite York's six kills.

Barry maintained momentum into the second set, opening up an early lead and eventually winning it behind strong serving and efficient offense.

In the third set, Northern Michigan briefly held an edge after an ace from Sydney Bartels and another from Haugen during a short run. However, Barry answered back with two separate five-point runs to secure victory.

With this result, Northern Michigan fell to 1-4 on the season while Barry improved to 3-0.

Head coach Mike Lozier said: "The Buccaneers' height and depth posed consistent challenges for the Green and Gold."

Looking ahead, Northern Michigan is scheduled for two matches on Saturday—facing Adelphi at 10 a.m. ET followed by No. 10 St. Cloud State at 3 p.m. ET.