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Tech volleyball takes 2 matches at Classic

Daily Mining Gazette/David Archambeau Michigan Tech’s Megan Utlak bumps the ball Friday at the Wood Gym.

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies came out victorious in their pair of matches at the Keweenaw Classic Tournament Friday (Sept. 8). The Huskies won 3-0 in their afternoon match vs. Bemidji State and won in five vs. St. Cloud State.

Afternoon match vs. Bemidji State

Huskies swept Bemidji state (25-16, 25-14, 25-21) this afternoon. The Huskies controlled the pace and dominated in kill accuracy, averaging a 3.09 kill percentage.

Freshman, Olivia Ghormley hit .750 for nine kills, Stephanie Dietrich chipped in six kills and two big blocks for the Huskies. MacAulay Petersen owned eight kills.

“This was a total team win,” said head coach Matt Jennings. “We were particularly strong out of the gate with our attack and serve receive. Mariel did a good job running the offense and getting the ball to our hot hitters. Olivia was dominant at the net all match long.”

Mariel Leibovitz stepped in for the Huskies today, owning two aces, leading with 25 assists, and added two digs.

Evening match vs. St. Cloud State

Tech and St. Cloud State were neck and neck in set one, the Huskies captured the win 25-23. The turning point for the black and gold was in set two with a score of 16-9, where Huskies had scored eight of the last nine points. Tech captured set two 25-13 but St. Cloud fought their way back into the match in set three, leading 25-16. Tech finished off St. Cloud 3-2.

“What a tough and hard-fought win. St Cloud is a good team that is deep with talent and can rattle off points in a hurry” said Jennings. “We match up pretty evenly and you saw that in tonight’smatch. I’m so proud of the way we battled and hung in there. To be down one to six in set five and come back from the brink like that is a major confidence boost for this group.”

“Our blocking was clutch tonight and kept us in the match,” Jennings added. “Mariah, Steph and Lauren had some big time stops for us at crucial points. MacAulay was really strong again for us. They had stuffed her a couple times there in the later sets, but she made the right adjustments and found a way to score when it counted.”

As a team, the Huskies had a total of 12 blocks to match the St. Cloud State Huskies (12 blocks). Leading the team with 16 points each were Mariah Sherman with 12 kills and eight block assists and MacAulay Petersen hit 16 kills at .256.

Lauren Emmert had 14 points under her belt with 12 kills and four block assists and a solo block.

Laura DeMarchi had her fifth double double on the season, tallying 51 assists and 17 digs.

“Laura was working so hard out there in this one and once again played with impressive poise and confidence,” said Jennings. “Her setting decisions were spot on and she kept us going when they were pushing us late in the match.

“What a great crowd tonight,” expressed Coach Jennings. “We appreciate the support so much and are glad we could pull the win off for them. We hope everyone comes back out tomorrow against Duluth. It should be a great match.”

Huskies’ Volleyball marches onward with a 4-2 overall record into the tournament to conclude the final match of the Keweenaw Classic vs. the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (5-1 overall) at 7:00 p.m. Saturday.

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