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Huskies volleyball returns to GLIAC play on the road

Michigan Tech setter Tess Hayes (10) passes the ball to middle blocker Kaycee Meiners (7) during a match against Ferris State on Friday, Sept 27, at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

DETROIT — Coming off a strong showing at the Midwest Regional Crossover, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team heads into the second half of their conference schedule this weekend by traveling to face Wayne State and Grand Valley State. The Huskies hit the second half fresh off a pair of wins over Tiffin and Findlay to follow a loss to No. 19 Quincy.

“I think this past weekend, we’re going to look back on it and recognize it to be a pretty important weekend for our team,” said Huskies coach Matt Jennings. “Quincy has played 19 times and lost twice. They lost to Ferris (State) in their last match of the crossover, 15-13 in the fifth set. They’re a very good team. They have two players that when they’re on your side, they’re going to win a lot of games. I don’t think we played all that well, even considering, but Quincy does that to teams.”

Jennings admits that traditionally, the Huskies have struggled in the opening match of the crossover.

“That first match of the crossover, we haven’t done well in it historically, but the pattern has kind of played out here. The next two we’ve done really well,” he said. “The Tiffin match was big. First of all, if you look at the numbers, we beat them pretty good. We were in control in all aspects. It was probably our best offensive performance of the year. Tiffin beat Hillsdale, beat Findlay, and some other good teams, and had one of the best blocking teams in the country. We beat them real solid.

“Then, we got the rematch with Findlay. It’s like the universe giving us what we want. I could not have asked for a better attitude, and a competitive attitude, than we put out there on Saturday. We were playing to win and to avenge what happened here at home court. If you remember, they beat us pretty solid here at home and we weren’t full strength then. We were closer to it this weekend.”

Jennings felt that the two wins back-to-back really restored team confidence in a big way.

“We walked away this weekend feeling very confident,” he said. “There’s a little bit of spark that happened and we played really well in our last two matches. This is exactly what we need; kept the season going.”

With the two wins, the Huskies improved to 11-7 overall, in a season that has seen them sweep their way through the Classic at Mines in Golden, Colorado, to start the season. Defeating Tiffin and Findlay gives the team six key non-conference wins.

It is hard for Jennings to hold back tears when he considers just how strong the mix of players he has had the pleasure of coaching the last several seasons. He feels like this group is right up there as well.

“For these last two years, playing with this mix of players who are high character, incredibly talented, young, with really solid leadership at the top, they’ve been bought in the entire time, and I’m so lucky that way,” he said. “It’s the Tech student, right? They want to get it right, and they’re coachable. They just go in and try to get better. They’re hard on themselves, sometimes, and I can push them at times, trying to get better.

“I don’t think we thought much about the Quincy game. I honestly thought that the way we went into Tiffin was to play our game. We know when certain parts are on point, we have the pieces overall to beat anyone we play. We found that rhythm early on, and we just stayed at it and were consistently all the way through. It certainly affected the next one. Without Tiffin, Findlay doesn’t happen the way it did. You can look back and say Findlay felt the biggest, because it was such a big match. But, that Tiffin one was the one that we kind of got our confidence back at the right time.”

Along with the two wins, sophomore setter Tess Hayes earned All-Tournament honors.

“Every time we play a match, people, coaches, comment on what a good setter Tess is, and I just reply, ‘She’s a very good setter,'” said Jennings. “We’re super lucky. She is just so poised beyond her age and years, has been since she showed up, leads the league in assists again, Freshman of the Year last year, and with the humility, and just steadiness that you just don’t see in a lot of people. She really makes us tick. You see some teams that are kind of top-heavy with points production, and that’s fine. It works for a lot of teams. Quincy’s a good example of that.

“We’re spread out, and we’re able to get a lot out of different areas, and that’s a testament to Tess’ ability to spread the ball around. When all the pieces are doing their thing, you can see what happens. The fact that we have Tess for two more years after this is a good thing for us.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

The Wayne State Warriors come into this weekend 8-10 on the year and 5-3 in GLIAC play. They went 1-2 at the crossover, beating Ashland and losing to both No. 11 Missouri-St. Louis and Walsh.

The Warriors are led offensively by senior outside hitter Molly Miller, who has 256 kills. She also has 24 service aces. Junior middle blocker Kayla Giroux is also having a solid season. She is second on the team in kills with 243.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

The Grand Valley State Lakers come into this weekend 18-1 on the season after sweeping Walsh, Lewis, and Missouri-St. Louis to finish the crossover 3-0.

The Lakers are led offensively by senior setter Jordyn Gates, who has a team-high 183 kills. Sophomore middle hitter Brianna Stawaski (135), junior outside hitter Kendall Stover (133), and junior setter Meghan O’Sullivan (133) are all over 130 kills as well. Grand Valley State spreads its offense out amongst its hitters, much like the Huskies.

GAME TIMES

The Huskies and Warriors will face off Friday at 7 p.m. in Detroit. Saturday, the Huskies and Lakers are set for their lone battle this season at 2 p.m. in Allendale.

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