Michigan Tech outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy attempts a spike during a match against Northern Michigan last season at the SDC Gym. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With the season right around the corner, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team got a chance on Saturday to throw on the familiar Black and Gold, and get on the court to play an intrasquad scrimmage. From it, they learned a lot about who they are and where they want to go as a team.

The Huskies feature a veteran-heavy lineup this season, even though they have a new face at the helm in Cindy Pindral, they are expected to battle for a home playoff game by the end of the season.

Pindral is a very familiar face to Huskies volleyball. She spent seven seasons around the program from 2016-22, and has recruited nearly the entire roster at some point.

Saying all that, she knows there is plenty of work to be done. She is not worried about stepping to replace Matt Jennings, who was the second-winningest coach in program history.

“It’s not intimidating,” she said. “It’s more just making sure that the players understand the potential, and getting us back to a place where we, I guess, live out that potential.”

That starts with defense, which is an area of the game where the Huskies have struggled the past couple of seasons.

“The tough part about defense is it’s so situational, and it’s tough, because you have to teach the ins and outs of like, ‘OK, we expect for this person to go here, this person to go here in this situation,'” Pindral said. “But, there’s always a but, you’re always at the mercy of the block, the speed of the set, the capability of the other team, stuff like that, the humidity sometimes. So, defense is tough, but we’ve definitely been working a lot on our ability to control chaos.”

One player who will be crucial to that effort will be fifth-year libero Alayna Corwin. Corwin had 40 digs, 12 assists and four aces last season in 55 sets played.

Senior libero Julia Fledderjohn, a transfer from Charleston Southern University, will also see time in the back row. With the Buccaneers, she racked up 565 digs, 116 assists, and 51 aces in 79 matches.

“I think our two senior DSs right now are really standing out,” said Pindral. “That would be Alayna Corwin, who’s a fifth year. She’s had a very, very strong spring, and so far, a very strong preseason. She’s playing great, and she has excellent poise, good communication, all of that stuff. And she just does all the little things. Super athletic as well, and very physically strong, too, and she’s a gamer.

“Then Julia Fletterjohn, who’s the D1 transfer that we picked up in January at the same time that I came in. She’s a little bit unconventional sometimes in her touch, but darn it, the ball goes to target a lot, almost every time. She’s very creative in the way that she plays.”

Corwin likes what she sees in how Pindral is running practice.

“She has such a good mindset when it comes to how we started,” Corwin said. “We started on Monday. We started with the basics. We’re really growing as a team, working on the fundamentals. We’re doing a really good job just kind of breaking it down and working on our skills individually, and then kind of putting it together in practice.”

Along with the defensive specialists, Pindral is putting a lot of work in the hands of the three setters on the Huskies’ roster. Junior Tess Hayes is back, after being named All-GLIAC Second Team last season. She tallied 1,103 assists last season and earned All-Tournament honors at the Midwest Regional Crossover. Senior Avery Brown is also back after seeing action in three matches last season. The pair will be pushed for playing time by freshman Madelynn Kreider, a Kingsford native, who was very impressive in the scrimmage on Saturday.

“I like her tempo,” said Pindral. “We’re trying to keep our tempo about a certain speed, so it’s pretty interchangeable from setter to setter, but her hands are just lightning fast, and she puts up a very hittable ball. That’s the whole goal for a setter, is to put up a hittable ball.

“So, yeah, she’s good there. She is just a gamer. She understands what’s going on. She understands where everyone needs to be. She understands the strategy. She understands where the defense is, all that stuff. You can tell she comes from a volleyball family, definitely a volleyball brain. So, I was particularly impressed with how she ran her side of the court. She did not play like a freshman by any means.”

Up front, so much of volleyball revolves around blocking. Pindral is excited about what she is seeing from sophomore Paige Wagner and junior Tricia Kennedy. Freshman Amara Beaudoin is also in the mix.

As the Huskies move to standardize their blocking, it is freeing up junior Rachel Zurek to move to the right side as a hitter. She started the transition last season, and she earned All-GLIAC Second Team honors for her efforts as she appeared in 29 matches and finished second on the team with 271 kills.

For Zurek, the transition from a position she was used to to one she dabbled in high school was a lot, but she is excited to keep growing, even seeing some time on the left side.

“It’s gonna be scary,” she said. “I mean, Cindy had said to me during the scrimmage that I’m going to see a lot more double blocks this year. It’s a scary feeling, but it’s nice to know that my team can count on me in that way. I trust them with everything. So it’s very much a mutual respect.”

Pindral said the Huskies are going to count on Zurek this season.

“She’s going to be a very impactful player for us, but I think the challenge for (assistant coach) Mallory (Nickelson) and I is finding the right spot for her, and getting her in the right conditions, right rotation, the right lineup so that she’s able to just be her best self,” said Pindral. “She’s so athletic. She jumps through the gym, and she can pound a ball too. I think she needs to take her game up to the next level with a bit more finesse at times, especially when the set is imperfect. But, the strategy for us is getting her in the best situation so that we can maximize her potent offense.”

Moving her around will give Calumet native Madelyn Torola, another freshman, a chance to prove she can fit in right away. Torola is proud to don the Black and Gold after her success with the Copper Kings.

“It feels great,” she said. “It feels like it’s not really real. I think I’ve always grew up watching them, so it’s crazy to be part of it.

“I feel like I’ve improved so much within a week. If I watched my practice from Monday to (Friday), I have just improved so much, which definitely helps. Having Rachel to give me feedback and Cindy give me feedback, it’s definitely helpful.”

Pindral likes a lot of what she sees in how Torola attacks the net.

“She had a great day,” said Pindral after the scrimmage Saturday. “About halfway through, she kept scoring, kept getting good blocks, and Mallory and I kind of glanced at each other, and we were like, ‘Oh, OK. Sweet.’ So, yeah, she’s been having a great week of practice. She is a really resilient player. She just kind of keeps going. I know that’s part of her upbringing.”

On the left side, the Huskies are dealing with the loss of Meg Raabe, whose injuries are keeping her from being able to play another season in Black and Gold. At the same time, that means there is an opportunity for senior Makena Wesol, senior Brooke Dzwik, junior Jacqueline Yancy, junior Kate Loch, and junior Brynn Erickson to all have an impact. Loch suffered an injury in the scrimmage, but the other four saw significant playing time.

Wesol has battled her own injuries over the past two seasons after racking up 163 kills in 21 matches as a freshman.

“She’s gotten a lot better. Her confidence is up, and she’s definitely in that battle,” Pindral said. “She’s funny. She has the best reactions to blocks and kills and stuff. Her eyes get super wide, and she’s awesome. She is definitely healthy, she’s ready to go, she’s in everything full-go, and has been, I think, since last fall. She’s back.”

Along with Wesol, Erickson and Dzwik have spent the last two seasons in mainly defensive roles. This season, Pindral wants to work both into six rotations and give them both a chance to show their offensive abilities.

“We’ve moved Brooke Dzwik and Brynn Erickson to the outside position,” said Pindral. “They were recruited as outsides when I recruited them, and I didn’t quite realize that they hadn’t really had any attacking reps in the last couple years, which is disappointing.”

Erickson’s jumping ability makes up for the fact that she stands 5-foot-8.

“Brynn has completely shown up,” Pindral said. “She’s our smallest outside, but she can blast the ball. She backs it up with really crafty attacks too. She’s an excellent passer. So, she’s certainly impressed me, I think the most on the whole of all of them.

“We were joking at the end of practice (Wednesday) too. We always do like shout outs at the end. The players shout each other out in good ways, and Brynn is consistently one that like gets shout outs. She’s so small, but she just jumps so well, and she’s so athletic, and she sees the court. She’s still bouncing balls and you wouldn’t really expect it just looking at her. But, then you watch her play, and you’re like, ‘Wow, you’re really good.’ She reminds me a lot of St. Cloud had an outside several years ago that was like, I believe, she had to be an All-American. I’d have to look it up. But, she was about Brynn’s height and stature and all that stuff, and she just destroyed teams. So I’m really excited for Brynn to get an opportunity to play live. Right now, she’s eating us alive in practice in a good way.”

Season opens Sept. 5

The Huskies open their season on the road at the McKendree Tournament on Friday, Sept. 5. They will play Missouri-St. Louis and Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday and then the host McKendree on Saturday afternoon.