After a historic season that saw the NMU Volleyball team capture the GLIAC Regular Season and Tournament championships in the spring, the Wildcats are ranked second in the North Division in the 2021 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Despite sweeping them in the GLIAC Tournament title match, NMU is one point shy of rival Michigan Tech University in the poll. The Huskies are the projected favorites with 51 points (four first-place votes) to the Wildcats’ 50 points (two first-place votes). 

Rounding out the North in the poll are Northwood University (34 points), Wayne State University (28), Saginaw Valley State University (22) and Lake Superior State University (10). In the South Division, Grand Valley State University (44) is the projected favorite with four first-place votes, and Ferris State University is right behind with 39 points and one first-place vote. Trailing the Lakers and Bulldogs in the South are Davenport University (31), University of Wisconsin-Parkside (19) and Purdue University Northwest (12).

Northern returns a lot of key pieces from last year’s championship team and has momentum coming into this season after winning the GLIAC a few months ago. With the season back in the fall like it usually is in a non-pandemic setting, the Wildcats’ title defense begins on Thursday, Sept. 2 in the Keweenaw Volleyball Classic in Houghton with four matches in three days. NMU takes on the likes of Minnesota State University-Mankato, Saint Cloud State University, Concordia University St. Paul and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.