Michigan Tech sophomore Lindy Oujiri (18) hits the ball against Davenport on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — When she stepped into the lineup in the spring, then-freshman outside hitter Lindy Oujiri had one job in mind: help her Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team in any way she could.

There were just two issues standing between her and success — a distinct lack of senior outside hitter Olivia Ghormley, who was lost to injury during the season, and confidence.

Seeing action in nine matches in the spring, Oujiri proved quickly that she was capable of stepping in and helping make up for the loss of Ghormley. She racked up 92 kills and averaged 3.41 kills per set.

“Lindy came to us with quite a bit of ability and skill and (she is) certainly a very intelligent person and player,” said Huskies coach Matt Jennings. “The real gametime experience that she gained in the second part of last spring, and then carrying over into moments of this year, I think, will prove to be incredibly valuable, not just in her future, but for the now.”

This season, she has seen action in six matches, and she had 45 kills with a kill per set average of 3.46.

For Jennings, having a player of Oujiri’s ability that he can call upon at any given moment just adds to the necessary depth great teams have at this level.

“It’s a position where we need the depth,” he said. “Lindy is certainly capable of pulling together some good offensive segments for us. We’ve seen her grow quite a bit into the position.”

As she gets more playing time, both Jennings and Oujiri admit that they see her confidence starting to grow. She first saw action this season in just one set against Minnesota State, but this past weekend, she started and played in all three sets against Davenport in a match the Huskies won in three sets. To add to her confidence, Oujiri led all hitters with 13 kills in the match as well.

“Having my team there to support me gives me confidence in me just doing my best and knowing what I’m capable of,” she said. “Knowing how well I can perform, and just remembering that, reminding myself of that. Everyone’s going to make mistakes, the game is mistakes, so just reminding myself that a few mistakes isn’t going to determine everything and that I can still bounce back. 

“(I am also learning) not to carry one pointing to the next, just to compartmentalize everything so that I can keep going and push myself.”

Having veteran teammates like Ghormley and Anna Jonynas, another fifth year outside hitter, has also helped the Osseo, Minnesota, native learn on the fly and build confidence as both have been there to cheer her on both on and off the court.

“It’s always fun, playing with the upperclassmen,” Oujiri said. “I’m really glad I got to have that extra year with them, because I’ve been learning a lot, especially (from) Olivia and Anna. (They are) such great people to look up to, learn from, and play with. It’s just fun to get to see court time with them and get to just see the stuff I work on in practice, really.”

Oujiri “geeks out” a bit when addressing the two fifth year players who share her position with her. 

“It’s been fun to just watch them,” she said. “I would watch them before I even came here all the time. Being able to be here, play with them, just be in the gym, just getting to learn from them and just kind of grow and play with them. I know that they believe in me and, obviously, I believe in them, which is fun to have that interaction.”

In the Huskies’ win over Davenport, Jennings could not help but notice how Oujiri plays when she plays with the level of confidence she is beginning to show.

“It’s just about how hard she goes into the ball into how fast she gets in through her approach,” he said. “I think that’s like the No. 1 thing. Then just the overall opening up to her teammates a little bit more, opening up to what’s going on in the play, and in the moment on the court. (She) is seemingly more comfortable, a little bit more vocal, a little bit more energetic and just going in harder, pretty much every play.”

In describing how Oujiri plays when her confidence is showing, Jennings describes her to a famous movie villain turned good guy.

“On offense, she seems to be difficult to defend when she’s going hard and assertively,” he said. “Offensively, she can be a real Terminator for us. I think she fits the offensive system that we’re trying to run. I think she actually runs pretty quick to the pin. She has good volleyball IQ as to where the shots are open. She just needs to continue to get more confident and to get a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, and a little bit more comfortable in her role.”

For Oujiri, getting the chance to start and finish strong when the team needed that effort out of her on Saturday helped give her a huge shot of confidence which she now carries into practice.

“Seeing that he and the team have confidence in me to put me out there and trust me with that role was really important,” she said. “This kind of gave me confidence in how I was playing and just made me feel good about where I am. 

“Just believing in myself and having that support from the team, and obviously my coaches, that they trusted me and knew that I could do well.”