Michigan Tech middle blocker Rachel Zurek (17) spreads her arms out as she awaits a serve during a match against Winona State Thursday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. Teammates Kate Walch (3), Brooke Dzwik (9) and Makena Wesol (14) all prepare to back her up. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

DULUTH, Minn. — After a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Winona State to open the season on Thursday, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team traveled to Marquette down three players due to various injuries. Despite the shortened roster, the Huskies went 1-2, with a win over Minnesota-Crookston and a 3-2 loss to Hillsdale.

Head coach Matt Jennings was proud of how the Huskies battled through everything they had to deal with over the course of the weekend.

“We played with a ton of heart, and we took high-risk shots that, at times, paid off,” he said. “Concordia(-St. Paul) definitely did us some favors along the way, which was uncharacteristic for a team like them. But again, in that third set, I think we proved to ourselves that you’ve got to hang in there, and when you do and you work to do your job the best you can, good things can pay off.”

Facing the NCAA Tournament runner up from last year, and without sophomore outside hitter Makena Wesol, who is unlikely to return this season after suffering a lower-body injury in the fifth set against Winona State, the Huskies fought to keep things close, losing 25-22 in the first set, and 25-20 in the second, before winning the third, 27-25.

“Makena is a very well-loved, well-respected player on our team, and I know we would have fought for anyone who went down like that,” said Jennings. “They were really playing, I think, (with) a little bit of extra energy and passion out there, and it looked good.”

In Wesol’s absence, Jennings is preaching that it is “next Husky up,” when it comes to filling starting positions. Senior outside hitter Lindy Oujiri is doing exactly that. She racked up 15 kills in the Winona State match. She fought to get to 12 kills against Concordia before putting 13 against Minnesota-Crookston and 19 against Hillsdale.

“Lindy did a great job of taking some of the offensive load under her shoulders, for sure,” Jennings said. “She had a very good match against Hillsdale, and Concordi does what they do to teams and the players, but she held her own there, for sure. (She) was a big part of our victory against Crookston, but she was special against Hillsdale. It was really nice to see.”

An area of the Huskies’ game that Jennings was especially proud of from the entire weekend was the play of junior middle blocker Kaycee Meiners and freshman middle blocker Rachel Zurek. Meiners had 12 kills against Winona State and then got above 10 a second time with 11 against Hillsdale. Zurek had seven in her collegiate debut against Winona State and picked up nine against Hillsdale. She also had three solo blocks against Concordia-St. Paul.

“Rachel, as a freshman, is doing some things that you don’t see very often,” he said. “Kaycee, with a little more experience, is really kind of flourishing here.

“Watching Rachel play as a freshman, with the kind of energy and confidence that she does, is awesome. I mean, this girl’s going to be good for us.”

Another freshman up front who had a strong four matches was setter Tess Hayes. She put up 50 assists against Winona State, and 44 against Hillsdale. She also racked up 15 digs against Winona State and 10 against Hillsdale.

“Tess, as a freshman, is just absolutely impressing a lot of people with her poise and her ability to run the court,” said Jennings. “Her setting is really going to make a difference for this team. It already has, and that’s not just with her decision making, and the quality of sets. She has a veteran-type poise and demeanor about her at the setter position that’s phenomenal.”

One area of the Huskies’ game that still needs improvement is the play in the back court. The Huskies made a number of mistakes over the weekend that cost themselves points. Jennings and his staff are placing a lot of trust in sophomore outside hitter Brooke Dzwik and sophomore libero Alayna Corwin, but both are just in their second seasons at the collegiate level.

With senior defensive specialist Kate Walch unavailable for two of the final three matches of the weekend, Jennings turned to freshman defensive specialist Brynn Erickson to help fill that position. The Huskies’ staff also asked her to take some time at outside hitter, which was an adjustment for her as well.

“Right now we’re looking for some people to kind of step up and run with it,” Jennings said. “I think we have the talent. It’s about putting together a combination of players back when, for example, when Brooke all of a sudden is six rotations outside, that changes the dynamic.

“When Megan (Raabe and) Kate can’t play, that changes the dynamic, on top of the fact that we’re going to have a new libero to begin with. So it’s just kind of like Whack-a-mole right now, and we’re working on filling the pieces.”

UP NORTH TOURNAMENT

This weekend, the Huskies are on the road to face four ranked opponents in the Up North Tournament in Duluth, Minnesota. On Thursday night, they will face the Bulldogs at 8:30 p.m. Friday, they will face St. Cloud State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, they will face Southern New Hampshire and Central Washington at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.

The Bulldogs come into their own tournament already 4-0 on the season. They beat both Adelphi and Ferris State, 3-1, before topping both Malone and Wayne State, 3-0.

St. Cloud State is also 4-0, having defeated Alaska-Fairbanks, Florida Tech, Alaska-Anchorage and Upper Iowa. Southern New Hampshire is 4-0 having beaten Georgian Court, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Southern Connecticut State and Saint Michael’s College. Central Washington is 2-2, having lost to No. 3 Metropolitan State-Denver and No. 19 Cal State-San Bernardino, and having beaten No. 9 Cal State-Los Angeles and No.18 Regis.