North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University volleyball team will travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota, for the Huskies Volleyball Classic this weekend. The Wildcats are scheduled to play four matches in three days, facing three teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.

Their first match is set for Thursday at 4 p.m. against No. 17 Barry University from Miami Shores, Florida. On Friday, Northern Michigan will meet Adelphi University of Garden City, New York, at 10 a.m., followed by a game against tournament host and No. 10-ranked St. Cloud State at 3 p.m. The road trip concludes Saturday with a matchup against Minnesota Duluth at 1 p.m.

Head coach Mike Lozier commented on the upcoming tournament: "We're going into this tournament giving it our best effort on Thursday, and we'll reassess from there," Lozier said. "I hope that we've learned from this past weekend and can build on it."

Northern Michigan began its season last weekend at the SpringHill Suites Invitational in Florida, where they posted a 1-3 record. The Wildcats defeated Wheeling but lost to Spring Hill, Southwest Minnesota State, and West Florida.

In their opening win over Wheeling, NMU recorded a .270 hitting percentage with 60 kills. Kaysie Bakke led with 17 kills on a .400 hitting percentage; McKenzie Gruner added 15 kills while hitting .500; Sydney Bartels had 13 kills at .344; and Emilia Gulock contributed eight kills at .316.

Junior setter Allie Barlow registered the second-highest assist total of her career with 55 assists in one match and finished the weekend with 139 assists overall, ranking her 21st nationally.

Senior middle blocker McKenzie Gruner was named to the All-Tournament Team after leading NMU with 38 kills and a .330 hitting percentage as well as recording 11 blocks.

Defensively, two-time All-GLIAC Honorable Mention libero Liesl Haugen led with 62 digs and seven service aces over four matches.

As a team through four matches, NMU is averaging a .154 hitting percentage along with averages of 11.9 kills, 11.4 assists, and 15.4 digs per set.

Barry University started its season strong with consecutive sweeps over Malone and D'Youville after being picked third in the Sunshine State Conference last year when they reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. The Buccaneers currently rank second nationally in hitting percentage (.444) and third in aces per set (3.67). Sophomore outside hitter Veronika Eremeeva leads Barry's offense.

Adelphi University enters the event with a record of one win and three losses but has played competitive matches against ranked opponents such as Gannon and defending national champion Lynn. Senior outside hitter Macarty McQueen recently earned Northeast-10 Player of the Week honors after setting a program record for most kills in a single match.

St. Cloud State holds victories over No. 4 San Francisco State and Central Washington but also suffered losses to Simon Fraser and Western Washington early this season. Picked to win their conference and ranked No. 3 nationally in preseason polls, St. Cloud is led by Ella Thompson who has tallied more than forty kills so far this year.

Minnesota Duluth opened its campaign undefeated through four matches behind balanced offensive production from multiple players including Ava Jones who was recognized as NSIC Setter of the Week for her performance.