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Huskies spike Wildcats in 3 sets

HOUGHTON – It took just three sets for head coach Matt Jennings and the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team to do something it had not done during his tenure. For the first time, Jennings and Tech beat the Northern Michigan Wildcats at home.

With wins now in four of its last five matches including its 25-18, 25-18, 25-11, sweep of the Wildcats, the Huskies are have clawed their way back to a 13-13 record overall and an 8-5 record in GLIAC play.

Two stats Tech recorded stuck out Tuesday night at the Wood Gym: aces (10) and blocks (16). Jennings could not be more proud of his team.

“[I am] certainly pleased with the win,” said Jennings. “It feels particularly good to have a win against your rival at home. It’s the first for me as a coach here at Tech, which is great.

“That was a great team effort. I think we played pretty well for large stretches of the game.”

For senior outside hitter Aubrey Ficek, who had a match-high 12 kills, defeating the Wildcats was a dream four years in the making.

“It’s great,” said Ficek. “To come here as a freshman and see the program build over the years, it is rewarding to beat Northern at home. To have the home crowd here and the band here, it is just such a great atmosphere.”

Jennings was proud of his most dangerous hitter, not for her kill total, but rather her blocks, of which she had three.

“For Aubrey, who is all power what makes her so impressive is that she does it with not quite all the height that a lot of volleyball players have,” said Jennings. “For her to block players three, four, five inches taller than her, feels particularly good.”

Rachel Pohlod, senior setter for the Huskies, also had a big night, picking up five kills, 28 assists and 11 digs. With the Huskies’ offense starting to gel, she now has several options to do, making defending her passes become more difficult.

“Our passing and our digging has really improved to allow me to be creative in my offense,” said Pohlod. “That is something that, as a setter, is super fun. Just because I am hustling, I get to set who I want because of what the other side is doing or who on our side is having a good match.”

Wildcats’ head coach Dominic Yoder felt the Huskies’ service game made life very difficult for his team as they spent more time chasing balls down rather than setting up their offense.

“They did a nice job serving us,” said Yoder. “They took us out of system, and they played well when we were on-system.”

Junior defensive specialists Halie Hart and Elle Heinonen each had three aces for the Huskies.

In the first set, Huskies’ freshman outside hitter MacAulay Peterson opened the match with a block and then added three kills as Michigan Tech led by as many as six, 12-6, before the Wildcats’ middle hitter Megan Crane helped pull her team back into the set with help from middle hitter Kayla Chosa.

Yoder liked the effort from his middles.

“Both our middles played really well,” said Yoder. “Unfortunately, our pin players did not get the opportunities they needed to get.”

The Wildcats’ duo picked up eight kills combined, but it was not enough to overcome five kills from Ficek and four from junior middle back Stephanie Dietrich. Sophomore right side hitter Courtney Kurkie sealed the set with a kill.

In the second set, Crane picked up an early kill as the Wildcats (13-14 overall, 4-9 GLIAC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Peterson answered shortly after for the Huskies with a block and then a kill shortly after as Michigan pulled even and then took the lead, 5-4.

Sophomore outside hitter Mariah Sherman added consecutive kills to help the Huskies turn that one-point advantage into a six-point lead, 16-10. The Huskies maintained the lead from there until the end of the set.

Ficek picked up a pair of early kills in the third set as the Huskies jumped out to a 7-2 lead. From there, the Huskies dictated the remainder of the set, pushing their advantage to 20-11.

Ficek drilled a ball into the left corner of the Wildcats’ defense to put the Huskies within four points of the win. Hart netted two of her three aces consecutively to put Michigan Tech within two points, 23-11. Ficek and junior middle back Lauren Emmert each added kills to close out the match.

With the win, the Huskies remain fourth in the GLIAC North, one game back of Saginaw Valley State for third.

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