Huskies volleyball heads into second half with five-match roadtrip
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SAGINAW -- After a 2-1 performance at the Midwest Crossover tournament in Hammond, Indiana, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team faces their final nine matches of the regular season with their fate in their collective hands. This weekend, the Huskies open a five-match road swing with matches against Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State.
In the crossover, the Huskies dropped a disappointing match to Hillsdale, 3-0, in their opener, but then stormed back to earn 3-0 win over Maryville and a 3-2 win over Findlay. Against the Chargers, sophomore right side hitter Meg Raabe led the way with just 10 kills.
In the win over the Saints, senior outside hitter Lindy Oujiri led the way with 20 kills. She then racked up another 20 in the win over the Oilers.
"Hillsdale, they're a very good team," said Huskies coach Matt Jennings. "We've seen them twice now, and they've improved since the first time we saw them. We just kind of weren't ourselves. But, the way we played against Maryville and Findlay, the wins are one thing, but the way we won was particularly encouraging. The Maryville game, we were just solid the whole time. Lindy had a monster game, 20 kills in three sets, just a monster game. We were good in a lot of areas of our game. Our serve-receive was good. Our serving was really good.
"The Findlay game is as exciting of a match that you're ever going to find. We lose the first one bad, win the second one close, lose the third one close, win the fourth one, big. Down 7-1, and down 10-4, then 13-11, then 13-13, that comeback was awesome. (We) showed a lot of resolve, a lot of sand in our team, and I thought we played really well."
Jennings said that he could feel the momentum changing in the Findlay match when the Huskies were down 7-1 in the fifth set.
"We strung together enough points that it was like, 'Are we closer? Are we getting closer? Okay, we're as close now.' Then all of a sudden, bang. (We) made a couple of big plays, and put them in a bad situation, and we caught fire at the right time," he said. "Our defense, the last two sets, really stepped up and gave our offense opportunities to score that maybe we hadn't had consistently, at least maybe earlier in the match, or in other matches of the year. We came up with some big plays, some big stops.
"They have a lot of weapons on that team. We did a really good job of neutralizing those weapons at the right time. Their two middles were fabulous. I mean, they're really good.
Jennings loved the poise and resolve he saw from his team.
"We just didn't get frazzled down 7-1 like that," he said. "A lot of teams just fold up and call it a day, and we just didn't. We had good serving at the right times. Our passing was better than theirs at the right times. I think maybe the spread in digs in that match was as big as any of the year. We out-dug them 70-something to 50-something, which is a good sign for our team."
Oujiri, who had 43 kills, including 40 over the final two matches, was named to the GLIAC Crossover All-Tournament Team for her efforts. Jennings said she is playing with a ton of confidence at the moment.
"When she's confident, and playing aggressively, she's one of the best attackers in the region," he said. "I think that's reflected by the All-Tournament Team here. She's towards the top of the league this year in kills. When she gets going, it's hard to stop.
"Tess (Hayes) really did a good job of getting her the ball at the right times. We were able to spread the offense out with our middles scoring the way they can. She was really hard to stop these last two matches. Her arm swing is so darn fast when her timing is on. She can be really tricky to defend."
While Oujiri was lifting the Huskies with her offense, freshman libero Amelia Albers and sophomore defensive specialist Alayna Corwin both had strong showings at the crossover as well. Albers had 50 digs over the three matches. Corwin chipped in 26 of her own.
Against the Oilers, both proved to be difference makers, according to Jennings. As they get more and more comfortable with each other, that can only mean good things for the Huskies offensively as well.
"The fourth and fifth set, Alayna was huge, same for Amelia, really, in the Findlay match," said Jennings. "They both had big moments. Their serving was good. Their passing turned on.
"We have our moments where we kind of lose sight of what we need to be doing on defense, but that's happening less and less. So, I think that our defense is doing better by the week, and I think our offense will start to reflect that as we go on, because your defense, especially your back court, is really what helps support your offense."
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, who are traditionally a very good blocking team, are struggling this season. They are just 3-17 on the season and 0-9 in GLIAC play. They went 1-2 in the crossover, with their lone win coming over Ursuline. The Huskies have not faced the Cardinals yet this season.
Junior outside hitter Madison Thompson leads the offense with 176 kills this season. Junior outside hitter Sarah Veale is also a threat. She has 106 kills thus far. Junior middle blocker Makaylah Roberts has 12 solo blocks and 29 block assists while also racking up 89 kills.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
The Wayne State Warriors come into the weekend 7-13 overall and 2-7 in GLIAC play. They went 2-1 in the crossover, with wins over Upper Iowa and Ohio Dominican. They are the other team in the GLIAC that the Huskies have not seen yet this season.
The Warriors are led by junior outside hitter Molly Miller, who has 232 kills this season. Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Giroux has also been very strong with 212 kills, seven blocks, and 46 block assists.
GAME TIMES
The Huskies and Cardinals will have their opening serve at 7 p.m. Friday in Saginaw. The Huskies and Warriors will do battle Saturday at 4 p.m. in Detroit.