The Northern Michigan University volleyball team won its final match of the regular season with a 3-1 victory over Lake Superior State University on Saturday (Nov. 10) from Vandament Arena. On Senior Day, the Wildcats won the first two sets 25-13 and 25-13 and the fourth 25-5. The Lakers took set three 25-19.
“Today’s match was a big win for us,” NMU coach Dominic Yoder said. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to get 20 plus wins and compete in the post season.”
The ‘Cats qualified for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and will travel to Ashland as the No. 5 seed to take on the fourth-seeded Eagles on Wednesday. The two teams tied in the GLIAC standings but Ashland held the tie-breaker by defeating the ‘Cats in five sets on Sept. 22 in Ohio.
NMU once again dominated the ball defensively, tallying 13 blocks on the night. For the second day in a row, senior Jasmine Calhoun led with seven block assists on the afternoon, finishing with 16 on the weekend. Juniors Kellisha Harley, Kalli Heron and Lina Lopes each contributed with two blocks.
Offensively, the Wildcats were led by Herron with 13 kills, while Lopes added nine to add to a total of 44 for the team and a .300 attack percentage. Senior Kalin Zimmerman had 12 digs while freshman Lisa Studnicka added 11. Harley ended the afternoon with 38 assists.
For the Lakers (4-25 and 1-7), Emily Snyder and Nikki Stratelak led with nine kills, giving the team 30 total kills. In the dig column, Meghan Drobish led with 11 and Katie Fitzpatrick had 10. LSSU had two blocks for the game.
Seniors Calhoun, Bailey Franklin, Ring and Zimmerman played their final regular season game in Green and Gold, and were honored before the game.
NMU plays at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Ashland in the GLIAC Quarterfinal.
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