Michigan Tech coach Matt Jennings discusses strategy with his team during a match against Davenport Saturday, Sept. 16, at the SDC Gym. The Huskies lost the match 3-0 to the Panthers. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HUSKIES COME BACK FOR FIVE-SET WIN SATURDAY

HAMMOND, Ind. — The Michigan Tech volleyball team defeated Purdue Northwest 3-2 Saturday (Sept. 23) with a come-from-behind victory in Indiana. The Huskies trailed 2-1 and the result looked similar to Friday, but the Black and Gold responded on the road winning the fourth set in extra points and snapping the Pride’s seven-game winning streak with a 15-10 win in the fifth.

“We talk a lot about resilience in our locker room and how we decide to respond to certain situations in a match or throughout the season,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “While there definitely have been moments so far this year we’d like back, today we showed a lot of guts and fought hard when our backs were against the wall. Our resilience paid off here today, and I’m exceptionally proud of our team for pulling this one off.

“Northwest is a good team that not only serves the heck out the ball, they play a real fast offense that can spin you around. We hung in there in serve-receive enough to get what we needed, and came up with defensive stops at big moments.”

Trailing 2-1, the Huskies never gave up on the fourth set, overcoming nine ties and a pair of lead changes. Tech had an early five-point lead but eventually trailed 22-19. The Huskies then benefitted from four errors by the Pride and survived four match points. Kate Loch and Rachel Zurek had points late in the frame. A bad set made it set point for the Huskies before Tricia Kennedy and Zurek teamed up on a block for the 27-25 victory and 2-2 tie.

The Huskies turned to their senior leader Lindy Oujiri in the fifth, and she responded with five kills while hitting .714. Loch added back-to-back kills late in the fifth and Zurek sealed the 15-10 win with a kill.

Just like Friday night at Parkside, Tech jumped out to a 1-0 lead but then dropped the next two sets. The Huskies forced the home team into 17 errors in the first set and got five combined kills from Oujiri and Zurek. Kaycee Meiners had three solo blocks and a block assist in the opening set. Tech scored 13 of the final 15 points and closed on a 7-0 run to win 25-14.

PNW (8-4, 3-1 GLIAC) evened it up with a 25-21 win in the second. Five different players had at least two kills for the home squad and they added three aces and three blocks.

The Pride never trailed in the third, winning 25-9 to take a 2-1 lead. The home team hit .320 with five aces and four blocks.

Zurek notched a season-high with 15 kills and hit .379. Oujiri tallied 14 kills, while Loch added eight, and Kennedy finished with six. Tess Hayes set the offense with 33 assists and added 17 digs. Alayna Corwin (14 digs) and Brooke Dzwik (12 digs) were also in double figures defensively.

“Rachel was excellent here in this one. She’s so fun to watch play when she gets going,” added Jennings. “We’re now on to one of the biggest, most exciting matches of the season. Northern at home is always a lot of fun to be a part of. We’ll be ready to battle.”

HUSKIES DROP FRIDAY MATCH AT PARKSIDE

KENOSHA, Wis. — The Huskies fell 3-1 at Parkside Friday in the first GLIAC road match of the season. The Huskies won the first set 25-23 before the Rangers took the final three 25-21, 25-18, and 25-20.

“Credit to Coach Leigh and Parkside for playing tough and getting it done tonight,” Jennings said. “They outplayed us in a lot of ways, none more so than the amount of heart they battled with.”

Tech trailed by six midway through the first set before going on a 6-1 run to get back into it. The Huskies finished on an 8-3 run to take the 25-23 lead, including the final three points after a pair of errors on the home team and an Oujiri kill. Meg Raabe led the Huskies with five kills in the opening set, returning to her usual spot on offense. Tech hit .278 and forced UWP into 10 errors.

There were nine ties and three different lead changes in the second. The Rangers used a 10-1 run to take an eight-point lead. Tech had a late push with a 6-0 run but the home team tied the match as Elle Truckenbrod put down seven kills.

The teams traded mini runs back and forth in the third set. UWP scored eight of the final 11 points and forced the Huskies into 16 errors to take the 2-1 lead. Oujiri had five kills for the Huskies and Elle Truckenbrod put down five for the Rangers.

Tech led for the first half of the fourth set but couldn’t overcome runs of 5-0 and 3-0 by the home team. The Rangers scored six of the final eight points to take the win.

Oujiri led the Huskies with 14 kills while Raabe finished with 13. Zurek (7 kills) and Kennedy (6 kills) also contributed to the offense. Hayes set the attack with 38 assists while adding 10 digs. Amelia Albers (15) and Brook Dzwik (11) were also in double figures in digs.

“We need to be better and reset here and now,” added Jennings. “We have a much higher standard than this. I take responsibility for not having us in a better position to win. We weren’t as prepared as we needed to be. All of us should take accountability for the way we performed tonight. While I feel Parkside did their jobs well and from start to finish, we seemed out of sorts again for long stretches and it was pretty frustrating.”

UP NEXT

Tech is 4-8 overall and 2-2 in the GLIAC and has a quick turnaround with a Tuesday match against Northern Michigan at the SDC Gym. First serve is set for 6 p.m. against the Wildcats.