GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team got 35 kills from junior outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy, and 21 from junior right side hitter Rachel Zurek, but ultimately that wasn’t enough as the Huskies dropped a pair of matches to open their GLIAC season in sweeps at the hand of No. 12 Ferris State and Davenport.

Tech drops Saturday match at Davenport

The Huskies fell 3-0 Saturday at Davenport to wrap up the GLIAC-opening weekend. The Panthers won 35-33, 25-16, and 25-17.

“(Saturday)’s performance lacked inspiration and any sort of our usual diligence in our skills or discipline in the way we play defense,” Huskies coach Cindy Pindral said. “We battled hard in the first set while trying to find our rhythm, but were unable to rebound in the face of adversity. This needs to be a turning point for us, and a reality check, in that we need to be on our A game every match.”

The marathon first set had 11 ties and four lead changes. The Huskies had seven setpoints that the Panthers overcame and scored the final two points for a 35-33 win.

Jacqueline Yancy had six kills in the opening set.

DU (5-4, 2-0 GLIAC) finished the second on a 10-1 run to win 25-16 and lead 2-0 at the break. Rachel Zurek had five kills in the second on only eight attempts.

The Panthers finished the match in the third with another late rally, scoring nine of the last 10 points for a 25-17 win. Yancy again had six kills for the Black and Gold.

Yancy (15 kills) and Zurek (11 kills) were in double figures offensively for the Huskies. Madelynn Kreider set the attack with 29 assists, and Julia Fledderjohn led the defense with 24 digs.

Abby Alan and Kaitlin Jordan had 10 kills each for the Panthers. Madison Berry set a match-high 42 assists and Hayley Carr led with 25 digs.

Huskies fall in tight match at No. 12 Ferris State

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — The Huskies had a hard-fought battle at No. 12 Ferris State on Friday, falling to the Bulldogs 3-1 in the GLIAC-opener. The three sets the Bulldogs won were all in a two-point margin with two of them going to extra points, 23-25, 24-26, 25-21, and 24-26.

“This match was a true dogfight, and I’m very proud of the way we battled this evening,” Pindral said. “We were definitely tested in serve receive, and I’m happy with our resilience and ability to grind. We had them on the ropes many times, it just seemed like one or two bounces went in their favor near the end.”

Down 2-0 at the break, the Huskies settled into the third to get back into the match. Brynn Erickson had a kill to begin the set and then served the Huskies to a quick 5-0 lead. They never trailed from that point on, building an eight-point lead. The home team fought back to a one-point margin, but the Huskies had four of the final five points–all on kills with Yancy making it setpoint and then putting down the winner. Four different Huskies had at least three kills in the third.

FSU (6-3) built a six-point lead in the fourth before the Huskies fought back, going on a 7-1 run to lead 19-16 and then pushed it to 22-19. The Bulldogs scored four straight points before back-to-back double blocks by the Huskies made it setpoint for the Black and Gold. Ferris then closed out the match with three straight points to take the 3-1 win, 26-24. Yancy had nine kills in the fourth and hit .429.

In the first set, the teams battled through 10 ties and seven lead changes. It was tied at 22 before the Bulldogs scored three of the final four points to take the 1-0 lead, 26-24. Madelyn Torola and Zurek each had three kills in the opening set.

The second frame was more of the same with six ties and three lead changes and each team having a 4-0 scoring run. The Bulldogs had setpoint before kills by Paige Wagner and Zurek extended the set.

Emma Bleecher finally put down the 26-24 winner and 2-0 lead at the break.

Madelyn Torola and Rachel Zurek again led the Tech attack, combining for eight kills.

Yancy finished with a match-high 20 kills, setting a new career-best. She hit .400 and added nine digs.

“Jackie helped in a huge way off the bench early and helped us score big kills in crucial moments,” said Pindral. “She was targeted quite often in serve receive and stood her ground.”

Erickson set a career-high with 30 digs while adding nine kills. Zurek finished with 10 kills while Tricia Kennedy and Torola each added eight.

“Brynn was the star of the show tonight by leading us in digs, passing very well, and providing quality offense,” added Pindral. “She’s an impressive athlete, a great teammate, and a fighter.”

Kreider tallied a season-best 35 assists while Tess Hayes added 16 assists. Fledderjohn finished with 21 digs.

“Maddy Kreider executed our offensive game plan very well and kept our hitters in great rhythm,” Pindral said. “She’s intelligent and strategic which is exactly what we need in the setter position. She provides so much leadership, despite being a first-year player.”

Up next

The Huskies are 3-6 overall and 0-2 in the GLIAC and come back to Houghton for the home-opener next weekend at the SDC Gym. Tech will face Roosevelt on Friday and Parkside on Saturday.