ACROSS THE BRIDGE
The Wayne State University volleyball team (10-3, 5-0 GLIAC), coming off a five-win homestand, will head to the Upper Peninsula this weekend to take on Northern Michigan (11-3, 4-1 GLIAC) on Friday at 7:00, and Michigan Tech (5-8, 2-3 GLIAC) on Saturday at 1:00.

Wayne State has won eight of its last nine matches, including its first five in conference play.  Northern Michigan had its five-match winning streak snapped in a five-set loss Saturday at Ashland, while Michigan Tech just completed a stretch of five straight road matches to begin GLIAC action.


AT THE HELM
Phil Nickel is in his fifth season as Wayne State's head volleyball coach and has a record of 75-50.  In his seven-year career, which includes two seasons at Thomas More College, Nickel is 109-93.

Dominic Yoder has a record of 107-60 in six seasons at Northern Michigan.  His overall record, including a year as the head coach at Cameron University in 2006, is 132-64.

After three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh, Matt Jennings was hired as the head coach at Michigan Tech in January.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was picked to finish in fifth place by the conference head coaches in the 2012 GLIAC preseason poll, while Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech were slotted eighth and 15th, respectively.  The Warriors and Wildcats also received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II national poll.


SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State snapped a 26-match losing streak against Northern Michigan with a 3-1 victory in November 2010, a win which clinched home-court advantage for the Warriors in the quarterfinals of the 2010 GLIAC Tournament.  The Warriors also earned a five-set win at NMU last November, their first victory in Marquette since 1990.

The Warriors have shut out the Huskies two years in a row Detroit and have won five of the last eight meetings.


SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech faced each other Tuesday in Marquette, resulting in a 3-0 victory for the Wildcats, their sixth win in their last seven matches.  NMU is tied with Ferris State for second place in the GLIAC North Division.

Leading the Wildcats are juniors Kalli Herron and Sarah Hamilton.  Herron's .284 hitting percentage ranks 12th in the GLIAC, while Hamilton is hitting .244 and averaging 0.87 blocks per set, eighth-best in the conference.  Setter Kellisha Harley (9.82 assists per set, fourth in GLIAC) and libero Alex Berger (3.82 digs per set, fifth).

The Huskies, who were winless in GLIAC play last year and had only two victories overall, have already defeated Lake Superior State and Lake Erie – both on the road – in the first two weeks of conference action in 2012.  Guiding a young team this season is sophomore Shelby Jones, who ranks 11th in the GLIAC with 3.00 kills per set, and freshman libero Jacqueline Aird, whose 4.08 digs per set ranks fourth.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
Wayne State's win over Saginaw Valley State on Friday was its third five-set match of the season.  The Warriors are 2-1 in those matches and 16-13 overall in five-set results during Nickel's tenure as head coach.

For the second week in a row, the Warriors are the second-best blocking team in NCAA Division II.  Wayne State's average of 3.16 blocks per set ranks only behind Pittsburgh-Johnstown (3.47).  Leading the way for the Warriors are freshmen Essence Jackson-Jones (1.41) and Kelsey Bonewits (1.40), who individually rank seventh and eighth, respectively.

Over the weekend senior libero Lindsey Graciak became the 16th player in Wayne State history to reach 100 career service aces.  She has 27 aces this season, with an average of 0.55 per set which is fourth-highest in the GLIAC.

Junior outside hitter Kristen Bulkiewicz averaged 3.25 kills per set last week in WSU's three victories.  She had 16 kills and seven blocks Tuesday vs. Findlay, and hit .450 with 12 kills Sunday against Lake Superior State.  Bulkiewicz, who totaled 10 blocks over the three matches, ranks seventh in the GLIAC this season in blocking (0.98) and eighth in kills (3.22).


UPCOMING MATCHES
This week is the first of three straight road weekends for the Warriors, who will travel to Hillsdale (Oct. 5) and Northwood (Oct. 6) before playing in the annual GLIAC/GLVC Crossover the following weekend in Aurora, Ill.  Wayne State returns to the Matthaei for Homecoming weekend, hosting Grand Valley State (Oct. 19) and Ferris State (Oct. 20).