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SEASON PREVIEW: 'Cats Ready To Start Season
 This story was written by NMU Sports Information MARQUETTE---With a new season just around the corner, the Northern Michigan volleyball team has been picked to finish fifth in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Wildcats went 9-9 in conference matches last season, finishing in fifth. Reigning three-time GLIAC Tournament Champion Ferris State has been picked to take the league title with seven of 11 first-place votes. Following the Bulldogs is Grand Valley State, the reigning regular season champions, with the remaining four first-place votes. Michigan Tech comes in as the third favorite, with Parkside one spot above the 'Cats who round out the top-5. 2024 GLIAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll 1. Ferris State, 97 (7) 2. Grand Valley State, 94 (4) 3. Michigan Tech, 79 4. Parkside, 71 5. Northern Michigan, 67 6. Wayne State, 48 7. Davenport, 46 8. Purdue Northwest, 44 9. Lake Superior State, 27 10. Saginaw Valley State, 18 11. Roosevelt, 14 There is plenty of excitement within the Wildcat program entering this season, with a brand new Vandament Arena and home atmosphere awaiting. The new volleyball-basketball hybrid venue will seat roughly 1,500 spectators with two state of the art scoreboards to enrich the gameday experience for both players and spectators. Within the lines, the Green and Gold return plenty of firepower and will be a contender for the conference crown come March. Headlined by four-time All-GLIAC First Teamer Jacqueline Smith, the Wildcats return nearly 80% of their set-time from a season ago. Smith will look to make history this season for NMU, as her 1,471 career kills are second in program history, just 193 back of Andrea Gommans' 1,664. Smith's mark of 1,471 is also second across the Division II landscape of active players, only trailing the 1,480 from Kenzie Foley of St. Cloud State. Joining Smith along the net will be another four-time All-GLIAC honoree in Meghan Meyer. The 6' middle blocker has been as consistent as they come over her four seasons, posting an impressive .349 career attack percentage. She will also be looking to reach the 1,000 career kill milestone this year, currently sitting at 849. NMU will also look to sophomores Liesl Haugen at libero and Allie Barlow at setter for significant contributions after impressive freshmen campaigns. Haugen was named an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention last season in which she totaled 412 digs and ranked second in the GLIAC with 5.07 digs per set. Barlow made nine starts last year, recording 297 assists with a 8.03 assist/set average. Eleven other returners will look to take a leap into a bigger role for the 'Cats, as well as five newcomers fresh to the fold to round out the 20-player squad, the biggest team head coach Mike Lozier has had. Entering his eighth season guiding the Northern program, Lozier brings a 67-46 (.593) conference record into the new campaign. Sarah Kuehn and Kam Duffield will accompany Lozier on the Wildcat bench for the second straight season, bringing valuable collegiate playing experience to the coaching staff. "Last year we didn't get the results we wanted," Lozier said. "This year needs to be that re-establishing of who we are as a program. Our goal is to win a championship and there's a lot of hard work that goes into that. There are a lot of good teams in our conference, but we believe that if we do things the right way and show up and work hard, we can find ourselves at the top." The Wildcats will open up the season on September 6-7 at the Minnesota State Tournament. The home opener in the newly renovated Vandament Arena will take place on September 12 at 5 p.m. against Findlay. |
