Huskies sweep Yellow Jackets

HAMMOND, Ind. — The Michigan Tech volleyball team swept Cedarville Saturday to wrap up play at the Midwest Region Crossover. The Huskies won 25-21, 25-17, and 25-19 to improve to 14-7 overall and wrap up nonconference with an 8-2 mark.

“We came out sharp and did a good job maintaining a solid attack and strong serving all match,” coach Matt Jennings said. “The serve-pass game was really strong again. We continue to get better at passing the ball and serving tough. Our defense keeps coming up with the stops when we need them and big plays when we need them. Carissa is playing lights-out defense right now, which has been a big part of the way we’ve been playing of late.”

Tech never trailed in the first set and used a 5-0 run to take the lead at 12-8. Cedarville kept it close late but a kill by Meg Raabe made it setpoint and Jillian Kuizenga put down the winner for one of her six kills in the first.

The teams battled through six ties and five lead changes in the second. The Huskies closed the frame on a 6-1 run after spreading the offense to six different players who had a kill. Tech hit .237 in the second and limited Cedarville to .061.

The Huskies hopped out to a 7-1 lead in the third and extended it to a nine-point lead at 14-5. The Yellow Jackets showed late life but committed three attacking errors for Tech’s final points. Kaycee Meiners and Meg Raabe each had four kills in the third, and Carissa Beyer registered nine digs.

“Kaycee was excellent this weekend, putting up back-to-back strong performances and really connecting well with Lina,” added Jennings. “It’s great having her back. Megan continued her quality play as well, giving us a solid six rotations in all three matches. Her offensive continues to produce at a high clip and she’s been passing very well.

“Janie and Grace both did a great job leading the team this weekend, keeping us going in tough spots and coming through with solid play.”

Jillian Kuizenga (13), Meg Raabe (11), and Kaycee Meiners (10) had double-digit kills. Lina Espejo-Ramirez set the attack with 30 assists and added eight digs. Carissa Beyer tallied a match-high 17 digs.

“Overall, it was a good Crossover for us,” said Jennings. “We competed at a high level for a lot of the weekend and beat two good teams. We got to see firsthand just how strong our region is this season, and we learned more about ourselves as a group. We continue to improve and gel as a group, which is great to see as we enter the second half of the conference schedule.”

Huskies split Friday at Crossover

HAMMOND, Ind. — The Huskies split day one at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament Friday. The Huskies fell 3-0 to Ashland in the afternoon match and then won their 13th match of the season with a 3-2 victory over Indianapolis in the evening.

“What a great way to end a very long day of volleyball,” Jennings said. “While this afternoon’s match was a tough one against a red-hot Ashland team, tonight’s against Indy was a really great battle, and I’m proud of the way we hung in there and finished. A well-played and hard-fought five-set win to close out was great to see. I was thrilled to see the toughness out there and really liked the way we responded when Indy was pushing us into a fifth set. To come out and take command early in the final set was impressive.

“We got a lot of great stuff from our freshmen outsides in both matches, a really great step forward for those two. They took a ton of swings for us today, scoring at a very high clip. Grace and Carissa were excellent all day as well and led the backcourt with quality passing and tough defense in both of these. Grace’s serving was incredible tonight, she led what was a really solid team serving night for us. The serve pass game was a strong point in the win.

“Ashland is a really good team this year, credit to coach Kevin and the Eagles. They are experienced, aggressive, and make very few errors. We had our moments but had a hard time responding at times when Ashland was crisp. Meg was particularly good for us in this one, the first of two really nice performances for her.”

Ashland 3, Michigan Tech 0

Ashland stayed hot, winning its 15th straight match in the 3 p.m. meeting with the Huskies. The Eagles won 25-19, 25-21, and 25-14,

The Eagles used an early 6-1 run in the first to take a four-point margin that they extended to seven. They hit .282 and limited the Huskies to .057. There were 11 ties and five lead changes in the second. Ashland took a 2-0 lead after scoring the final five points. Raabe had five kills in the second. The Eagles took control late in the third, scoring six of the final eight points to earn the sweep. Makena Wesol had four kills for the Huskies in the third.

Raabe led the Black and Gold with 11 kills while hitting .435 and adding six digs. Makena Wesol (7), Kuizenga (5), and Meiners (4) also had at least four kills each. Espejo-Ramirez set the attack with 23 assists and Beyer registered 20 digs.

Michigan Tech 3, Indianapolis 2

Tech took the first two sets 25-23 and 25-18 before the Greyhounds tied it up 25-23 and 26-24. The Huskies won the fifth 15-12 to improve to 13-7 overall.

Both of the first two sets had eight ties and four lead changes. Raabe had four kills in the first, including the final point. Tech built a 20-14 lead in the second and Raabe again ended it, finishing with five kills in the frame.

The third was tight throughout with neither team gaining more than a three-point lead in the second half of the set. Tied at 23, the Greyhounds got a kill by Sophia Parlanti and then a bad set by the Huskies. Raabe again led Tech with six kills. UIndy tied it in the fourth after an extended set. Tech held matchpoint before four straight points by the Greyhounds to get back into it. UIndy got a kill by Grace Hedgwood and a block by Elizabeth Eads and Alex Equihua to send it to a fifth. Wesol tallied five kills in the fourth.

The teams battled through five ties early in the third. Knotted at 12, the Huskies took the win after a ball handling error by UIndy, a Brook Dzwik ace, and a kill by Raabe. Beyer dug up seven balls in the fifth.

Raabe racked up a season-high 22 kills while hitting .322. Wesol had a season-high 17 kills, while Meiners hit double figures for the first time this season, tying a career-high with 10 kills and adding seven blocks.

Espejo-Ramirez set the offense with 57 assists and added nine digs. Beyer stabilized the defense with 33 digs, with her fourth 20-dig match in a row. Grace Novotny and Dizwik each added 15 digs.

Up next

Tech gets back to GLIAC action next weekend with a road trip to Grand Valley State and Davenport.