HILLSDALE — The Michigan Tech Huskies came back hot on Friday (Sept. 1) to defeat the UIndy Greyounds 3-0 in their second match of the Hillsdale Tournament.

The Huskies set the pace in the first set and took control of the game outscoring the Greyhounds 25-14. UIndy stepped their game up in set two, but ultimately fell shy to the Huskies 25-23. The Huskies dominated in set three 25-16 for their first sweep of the season.

“Today’s match was a great step forward for this group,” said Tech head coach Matt Jennings. “We were aggressive in our attack and serves, which seemed to keep Indy off balance and out of system for most of the match.”

Game leader, MacAulay Petersen totaled 13 kills on the net. She had a hitting percentage of .550, a career high for Petersen. Seniors Lauren Emmert and Stephanie Dietrich recorded seven kills. Tech held a strong advantage with their .312 hitting percentage vs. Indy’s .098.

“MacAulay was pretty dominant all match long, which is exciting to see and a lot of fun to watch in person,” added Jennings. “She was smart with the ball and took great shots at the right times, while staying aggressive throughout. Steph and Lauren both were solid at the net as well and did a good job putting the ball away. They seemed to be clicking with Laura right out of the gate.”

“Our passing was good again today allowing Laura to spread the ball around and get our hitters good opportunities to score. We did a good job siding out in sets 1 and 3 and were very efficient with the ball. Halie and Anna were especially strong in serve receive all three sets.”

Laura DeMarchi, with back to back doubles, set up the attack with 35 assists, adding 10 digs, two kills, and two aces. Elle Heinonen was a back-row staple, leading the team with 15 digs.

“Defensively, we were much better at controlling the ball and digging to target, which allowed our middles to get going in transition. Elle and Laura were fantastic again today on defense. We blocked pretty well for the most part, with Lauren and Olivia each coming up with some timely blocks for us.”

The Greyhounds were led offensively by Rachel Irbe and Autumn Mayo. Irbe tallying eight kills, Mayo with seven. Olivia Martin had 11 digs to take the lead defensively.

Tech wraps up their four-match tournament Saturday, Sept. 2 against Glenville State. First serve is set for 10 a.m., followed by Findlay at noon at the Hillsdale Tournament. The Huskies will also be hosting the Keweenaw Classic next weekend beginning Thursday, Sept. 7. Michigan Tech vs. Mary will kick off the tournament. Match time is set for 7 p.m. in the SDC Varsity Gym.

“I’m most proud of how the team played as a unit,” said Jennings. “We were together out there the whole time and played with poise and made relatively few mistakes.  We need to keep improving and working to get better each day. Tomorrow provides us with two opportunities to do just that.”