HOUGHTON — With a pair of victories over the Wayne State Warriors and the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team finds themselves entering this weekend’s rivalry matchup on a six-match winning streak.

That strong run will be put to the test this weekend as the Huskies host the Northern Michigan Wildcats at 4 p.m. Saturday at the SDC Gym.

Huskies coach Matt Jennings is very pleased with where the Huskies’ game is at, thanks in large part to the fact that they found a way to battle back from a pair of deficits late in the third and fourth sets against the Warriors last Friday.

“Look at like the Wayne State game, for example,” Jennings said. “The third and fourth set, there was a string of plays where extended rallies were made, and hustle plays led to big points that kept a set, and match-saving run, going. I mean there is a cover ball, there’s a tip, there’s a block, there’s an ace, there’s an out-of-system kill. A series of plays like that, strung together in a row, when our backs are against the wall, is a great example.”

The win over the Warriors did wonders for the Huskies’ confidence as a group.

“Oh, it’s huge,” Jennings said. “I mean, any team that experiences a match where you are that close to losing, and then to be able to keep your poise, maintain your poise, and execute the plays you needed to one at a time, you should be more confident after accomplishing that. 

“I think with a team like ours, who’s experienced and veteran, and already, I think, relatively confident, it’s a great thing to experience. I think we would be irresponsible for not trying to capitalize on that accomplishment over the weekend.”

A big reason why the Huskies (11-4, 6-1 GLIAC) have been able to push their winning streak to six has been their improved blocking over the past three weeks. 

“No doubt, blocking has gotten better,” said Jennings. “We’ve cleaned it up a little bit. We’ve gotten a little bit more disciplined with it, and (we have) a little better idea of what our intention is when we’re going out there to block. 

“As our block has gotten better, our defense has gotten more whole. I think that we’re starting to see the results of that come to fruition.”

Jennings used all four of his middle blockers this past weekend, and is pleased with the depth that is quickly developing.

One player who is beginning to find her way in both the blocking scheme and the offense is sophomore right side hitter Jillian Kruizenga. Jennings has been pleased with her comfort level, no matter who is playing in the middle next to her.

“It’s the single thing I’ve been asking of her for some time now,” he said. “It is very exciting to see. She is working quite hard on evolving her defensive game. That includes her off-blocker defense as well as her blocking. No doubt, Jill’s blocking has improved over the season so far.

“When she’s doing her job on both sides of the ball there, scoring and blocking, we can separate from teams, I think, in a different way.”

Jennings continues to stress that Kruizenga works on building up her consistency at the net.

“I think, in her position, it’s about just being consistent, setting a consistent block, and allowing her middles next to her, whoever they are, to get out and close. I think since we’ve gotten more disciplined with that, we’ve seen the combination of Jill and the middles block more effectively.”

On the other side of the floor, Jennings loves having the combination of fifth year outside hitters Olivia Ghormley and Anna Jonynas alongside sophomore Lindy Oujiri. He feels that Oujiri is getting a chance to really learn from both Ghormley and Jonynas, the latter of which earned both GLIAC North and AVCA National Player of the Week honors this week.

“With Anna on some kind of run here, between her and a combination of Liv and Lindy, I really like where we’re at with the left pin,” said Jennings. “Then you add Jill on a given night, who can just go off, we’re pretty confident with the weapons we have offensively at the pin. 

“I’d like to see our middles get in the action more. They’re doing very well when they’re getting the ball, but as we see their game continue to go up, then I think we’re going to see our offense even go into another level.”