The Northern Michigan University volleyball team and its head coach Dominic Yoder made good on one of their preseason goals Sunday, making the regional portion of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
The news came one day after the Wildcats (20-11, 11-5 GLIAC) fell to Saginaw Valley State University in the GLIAC conference semifinal game.
Three ‘Cats earned all-GLIAC Tournament honors: Caryn VanBeckum earned first-team honors, Mandie Meyer earned second team and Daneilla Bezerra earned honorable mention.
Now, there’s new life for the team, and a whole new slate of
games.
When NMU plays in the first round, it will mark the first time in four years that the volleyball program has been to the national tournament, and the first time that Yoder, now in his second year as head coach, has led the program there.
In the first round, the fifth-seeded Wildcats meet up with the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s (GLVC) University of Indianapolis, seeded fourth. The game is at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21. The Indianapolis team carries a 28-9 overall record, and 14-4 GLVC mark into the contest.
If the Wildcats walk away with a win, they will face the winner of Grand Valley vs. Northwood on Saturday.
