Michigan Tech outside hitter Meg Raabe reaches to knock down a ball during a match against Wayne State Friday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With a 3-2 win over the Wayne State Warriors and a 3-0 win over Saginaw Valley State Cardinals Saturday, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team earned a weekend sweep to improve to 13-14 overall and 9-7 in GLIAC play. With the wins, the Huskies remained fourth in the GLIAC standings.

HUSKIES SWEEP CARDINALS SATURDAY

The Huskies cruised to an opening set victory over the Cardinals, 25-14. From there, they had to work hard to close out the match with wins of 25-23 and 26-24, Saturday during Senior Night at the SDC Gym in Houghton.

Sophomore outside hitter Meg Raabe led the way for the Huskies’ attack with 18 kills, five digs, two solo blocks and one block assist in the match.

“To see her go back to back like that was nice, for sure,” said Huskies coach Matt Jennings. “I asked her after yesterday’s game, ‘How’s the back feeling? Fine. How’s the shoulder feeling? Fine.’ She’s like, ‘My legs are tired, though,’ and so I was wondering if we would be able to give her a break in the back row. I’m glad she got those reps back there, and her legs seemed to hold up real nice for us.”

Raabe finished the weekend with 50 kills and hit over .300 in both matches. She admitted that she was quite tired after Saturday’s match, but, at the same time, she was proud to be able to help the team finish its home schedule with a pair of wins.

“My legs really hurt, but it’s awesome,” she said. “I think, especially, this season has been hard for me. It’s been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of injuries. This was my first weekend where I really felt healthy. Didn’t feel like I had any restrictions or anything. Coach kind of was just like, we’re going to put you in six rotations, see how you do. So it felt really good.”

She had six kills in the first set, six more in the second and six in the final set to help drive the offense.

Along with Raabe, junior middle blocker Kaycee Meiners had eight kills, including four in the third set. Three other Huskies had an opportunity to chip in. Senior middle blocker Lauren Richards, senior middle blocker Zoe Rhines, and senior defensive specialist Leiya Rybicki all saw significant playing time in their final regular season home match of their careers.

Richards had an impact from the start of the match. She picked up the first point for the Huskies. Then later in the set, she had a chance to extend the Huskies’ run while serving and she picked up an ace to make it 5-1.

Jennings was proud of the way the team played for the seniors.

“It was important that we honored our seniors in the right way, and that was by taking care of business and winning,” he said.

He was also excited to see the impact Richards had immediately on the match.

“A highlight of today’s match for me was watching Lauren start the match,” he said. “That was just so awesome. Lauren’s a good volleyball player. (She) is (an) even better human being. You could just tell by the way the team responded to know she’s an athlete. She’s quick, and she took that moment real seriously and made good on it. She goes back and (is) just serving laser beams. It was awesome.”

HUSKIES DEFEAT WARRIORS FRIDAY

The Huskies were just seven points away from a three-set sweep of the Warriors, and holding a nine-point advantage, before the Warriors stormed back and won the set. They won the next one too, forcing a fifth and deciding set, where the Huskies emerged victorious Friday, 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 15-11, at the SDC Gym.

This was the second straight five-set match the Huskies played this week, losing the previous one to Northern Michigan on Tuesday, and it was the first match without senior outside hitter Lindy Oujiri, who suffered an injury against the Wildcats.

“(I am) incredibly proud of our Huskies tonight,” said Jennings. “I can’t overstate how important that win was for not just the season, and the standings, but just the team. What a close game, two points. After the first set, just two points all on the way. Two teams just battling offense, battling offense.

“Considering the five-setter we dropped earlier in the week, to be in the position we were here tonight, and without Lindy, (and) one of our other starters was out with strep. We learned today to step up as a group. (To) finish the way we did was important for us. I’m proud that we did it. I know the team understands just how important it was for them, too.”

The Huskies rolled through the first set, thanks in part to six kills from Raabe, who finished her night later with a match-high 32 kills, 11 digs and three block assists. Raabe racked up another six kills in the second set, and had 10 more in the third.

Raabe played in all six rotations for the Huskies throughout the night, which was a huge boost for her teammates.

“That’s an incredible number, (and she) hit at an over-.300 clip to boot,” said Jennings. “We see what we have with her. She’s just a good volleyball player. She listens and she responds. She bounces back and it’s not flashy. But, you don’t get to 32, it’s real subtle some of the cuts and how she can produce points.

“She’s starting to get her legs. Part of the six-rotation responsibility includes, it’s a lot more work out there. So, she was hurt earlier in the year, so having to catch up with the condition part of that. You can see (what) both teams at the end there are like, and she came through. Megan’s just a darn good player, she’s a great leader, and just a good human. (I’m) glad she’s a Husky.”

Raabe had six more kills in the forth set, which was a back-and-forth affair where neither team had a large advantage, even when the set went to extra points. However, the Warriors emerged with the win, forcing the fifth set.

In the fifth set, the teams were again separated by two points or less until the teams found themselves tied at 10-10. From there, the Huskies closed out strong, scoring five of the final six points to win the match.

Freshman outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy had 15 kills on the night. Junior middle blocker Kaycee Meiners had 10 kills and eight block assists. Freshman setter Tess Hayes racked up 57 assists, one solo block and 11 digs.

UP NEXT

The Huskies head back out on the road for the final weekend of the GLIAC regular season. On Friday, they will face Ferris State. Then Saturday, they will take on the Lake Superior State Lakers.