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Northern Michigan 14 25 25 19 7

Michigan Tech 25 19 23 25 15

Northern Michigan (17-9, 10-4 GLIAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Mandie Meyer 24-3-0; Katt Garvick 13-2-2; Amy Andersen-Goldsworthy 8-0-1; Emma Wolfe 6-0-3; Abby Lovell 2-0-1; Sami Vierk 1-0-0; Cassie Osiecki 0-2-0; Dani Branco 0-0-1; Katie Twardzik 0-0-2; Totals 54-7-10.0. (Assists) - Abby Lovell 45. (Dig leaders) - Cassie Osiecki 18; Mandie Meyer 12; Abby Lovell 12.

Michigan Tech (13-12, 9-5 GLIAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kristine Sexton 17-0-1; Veronica Armstrong 12-1-0; Alicia Schneider 10-0-1; Lyndsey Dixon 9-0-0; Lindsey Sathre 4-0-2; Madeline Haben 3-2-0; Kaari Nevanen 3-2-0; Melissa Axtell 2-0-0; Rachel Glisch 1-1-0; Totals 61-6-4.0. (Assists) - Madeline Haben 53. (Dig leaders) - Kaari Nevanen 16; Veronica Armstrong 13; Madeline Haben 12

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HOUGHTON - With a 3-2 (25-14, 19-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-7) victory over the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division-leading Northern Michigan Wildcats Saturday, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team claimed a spot in the GLIAC Tournament.

"I was so pumped, this is one of the games that we needed to get to the GLIAC Tournament, to get to the NCAA tournament and that was our whole goal, and we wanted this," senior Veronica Armstrong said while celebrating with her family who enjoyed the show as part of Senior Day. "In this, our last game on home court, it was amazing."

Armstrong had 12 kills (despite playing libero for the first two sets) and 13 digs.

The Huskies were all over the Wildcats early, earning leads of 3-1, 5-2 and then never looking back, eventually leading 18-9 and finishing the first set with an Alicia Schneider kill.

The momentum quickly died, though, as Northern earned nine of the first 12 points in set two before the Huskies showed some fight, bringing the score to within four at one point, and within six at the end.

"Set two was a little disappointing," Tech coach Orlando Gonzalez said. "Every set but set two we gave ourselves a chance to win."

Set three was the tightest of the day. After the Huskies jumped out to an 8-4 lead, the Wildcats tied it at 16, and the teams were still tied at 23 when a Katt Garvick kill broke the tie, and the play was quickly followed by an out-of-bounds block by Tech to give NMU the set and a 2-1 lead.

With the score 13-12 in set four, the Huskies scored 12 of the next 19 points to even the match up, and gain all the momentum heading to set five.

Senior Kaari Nevanen served six straight points, including two aces, as the Huskies jumped out to a back-breaking lead. The team never looked back, allowing only seven points for the Wildcats.

"It was emotional at the end because our team is so good," sophomore Kristine Sexton said. "We played so good at the end. It's what we've been working for all season, so it was awesome to have that feeling."

Sexton led the team with 17 kills and an astonishing .485 hitting percentage, marking her third consecutive match over .400.

Coach Gonzalez said another key to the Huskies' success was Schneider, who had 10 kills and five assists.

"Schneider really came on tonight," he said. "I think she was a big difference in making our offense more dynamic from the first time we played Northern (a loss in Marquette).

"We watched the match from September, and she is a completely different player, and that, along with some of the other little things the girls did gave us the advantage."

NMU was led by 24 kills by Mandie Meyer and 13 from Garvick, but Meyer had only one kill and five errors as things fell apart for NMU in the fifth. Calumet alumna Katie Twardzik had three assists and two solo blocks.

Tech now has two road matches remaining on the schedule, the first on Friday at noon against Ferris State, then Saturday at 4 p.m. against Grand Valley.

Tech's win knocked NMU off the top of the division. Saginaw Valley State leads by a half-game over NMU and GVSU, with Tech and Ferris a game behind the pair.

Both teams have clinched a playoff spot and will be battling for a chance at hosting a first-round tournament match, which will go to the top two teams in the division.

"We're trying to host a game here at Michigan Tech, and if we can get a couple of more wins we should have a good shot at playing the first round here," Gonzalez said.

The team will go forward with the confidence of knowing they're a top-notch squad.

"This win proves we're capable of beating anyone in this conference," Gonzalez said. "When we turn it on to another gear we have another dimension that a lot of teams don't have. We've just got to work hard and get on a roll.

Michael H. Babcock can be reached at mbabcock@mininggazette.com.