Wildcats leave tourney with another first round loss

By Kaitlin Leichtman

The Northern Michigan Wildcats fell to the Hillsdale Chargers at the NCAA Regional quarterfinals by a score of 3-2 in a very close match on Thursday, losing in the opening round for the second straight year.
Hillsdale won the first two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-22, but Northern retaliated to win sets three and four 25-17 and 25-21. The last set of the game was by far the closest and most competitive. The lead went back and forth between the two teams, but the Chargers took control after an 11-11 tie to knock down the Wildcats efforts for a comeback, winning the set 15-12. This is the third time this post-season the Chargers have defeated a team they lost to in the regular season. Northern Michigan ends their season with a record of 19-12, while Hillsdale advances to play the University of Indianapolis in the semifinals on Friday.

The GVSU Lakers started out the game strong after winning the first set 25-21, but that would be the only point in the match where they would have the lead. The SVSU Cardinals dominated the last 3 sets of the match 25-15, 25-20, and 25-18, ending Grand Valley’s season with a record of 16-13. The Cardinals advance to play the Lewis Flyers in the semifinals on Friday.

The Lewis Flyers destroyed the Ferris State Bulldogs in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals 3-0 on Thursday, ending Ferris’ season 19-12.
The Flyers took control of the game right from the start and refused to let the Bulldogs take the lead. Ferris made many attempts to overcome Lewis’ domination, but the Flyers kept a tight hold on their lead, winning each set 25-20, 25-27, and 25-21 respectively. This was Ferris’ first appearance at the NCAA regional since 2006. Lewis advances to play SVSU in the semifinals on Friday.

The University of Indianapolis defeated Michigan Tech 3-0 in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals, advancing to play Hillsdale in the NCAA semifinals on Friday.
The UIndy Greyhounds had a 4-point lead for the majority of the game until the last set, when the Huskies had their first lead. Tech came back from being under 6-1 to tie it at 8-8. The set continued back and forth until the Greyhounds had a 4-point run to make it 20-15. UIndy ended up winning all three sets 25-20, 25-19, and 25-20, ending Michigan Tech’s season with a record of 14-15 and advancing to their 3rd straight NCAA second-round appearance. UIndy defeated Hillsdale in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA’s.

The winner of the UIndy/Hillsdale game will advance to the finals to play the winner of the SVSU/Lewis game on Saturday, November 21.

Cat Chat semis predictions: One more match for only one GLIAC team: the Saginaw Valley Cardinals. SVSU has the depth and position players to defeat the #11 ranked Lewis flyers, and will win it in 4. However GLIAC champion Hillsdale, despite proving themselves in the conference tournament and opening round, will fall to the strongest team in the Midwest in 4.
Cat Chat finals predictions: UIndy 3 SVSU 0. The Greyhounds are just too strong for any GLIAC team this year.