Michigan Tech outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy attempts to drive a ball over the block of Northern Michigan during a match last season at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

DULUTH, Minn. — While they did not come away from the McKendree Tournament with wins in all three matches, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team had a strong tournament experience with wins over Southwestern Oklahoma State and the host, McKendree.

“I thought it went very well,” said Huskies coach Cindy Pindral. “I was very impressed that a lot of different people stepped up in different ways this weekend. The UMSL (Missouri-St. Louis) match was a really tough one. That UMSL team is very talented, and they pretty much have the same starting lineup, to my knowledge, for the last couple of years that have gone to the NCAA tournament.

“But, we were point-for-point with them. The stat line doesn’t really show it, but we didn’t make a ton of errors, which was awesome, and we just had some trouble scoring. I thought our ball control was very good. Our blocking scheme was, for the most part, where it should have been. They had a very talented right side that kind of shelled us down the line.”

Two Huskies, junior outside hitter Brooke Dzwik and junior right side hitter Rachel Zurek, earned All-Tournament honors.

Dzwik led the Huskies with 32 kills over the course of the weekend, in her first weekend playing all six rotations. Defensively, she was second on the team with 28 digs. She also racked up seven aces.

“She’s very competitive, and I noticed from her freshman year, even in drills in practice where it’s like attacker versus attacker or something like that, where it’s really only one attacker versus an entire defense, she just dials it to a different level, and she will not lose,” Pindral said. “She will find whatever it takes to get the job done. She’ll take a zillion swings and just keep grinding and getting the job done. So, I like her mentality that way. She doesn’t quit, she just keeps pushing. I think that’s awesome, and it’s a really great quality to have in someone who’s taking a lot of swings, and is relied on a lot for offensive production. She definitely proved that this weekend.

“We definitely had many rallies where it was back and forth, and then we finally got an opening and Brooke blasted it off the block, or found a hole, or something like that. She really impressed me. This was her first time swinging against a different team other than in our own gym, and she really showed up for the occasion and did a great job.”

As for Zurek, she put up 11 blocks and had 27 kills over the course of the weekend.

“Rachel is so athletic, and she jumps so well most of the time when she’s blocking people, the ball lands before the opponent’s feet land,” said Pindral. “So, it’s like a devastating block, a little demoralizing. It feels like it’s worth two points at times. But, Rachel puts herself in really good positions, and she’s very physically imposing, so it’s really hard to hit around her, and nearly impossible to hit over her.

“We really like her on the right side, because most of the balls in volleyball go to the left side attacker. So, we try our best to match her up with whoever the strongest left side attacker is for the opponent. We did a good job of matching them up this weekend. Then she backs it up with really good attacking as well.”

What really impresses Pindral is how Zurek approaches her hitting.

“She’s best off of one foot, so running that slide approach, where it almost looks like a layup approach, where she runs to the side, then cuts it off, and jumps off that left foot, swings it back around,” Pindral said. “She’s best off one foot. But, we’re trying to work her into different situations where we can get her the ball a little bit more, and maybe relieve some of the pressure that our left sides have been giving in terms of ball distribution.”

While Zurek is less involved in blocking than she used to be, Pindral likes how the team is adjusting to how she wants them to block.

“We had a very set strategy on where we’re blocking, and our defense was able to match it,” she said. “Behind it, we were scooping up all sorts of balls. We were vulnerable in the tips, but that’s not uncommon to our team. That’s why you tip. So, we’ve been working on that in practice quite a bit this week.”

Up North Tournament opponents

The Huskies head to Duluth, Minnesota, this weekend for the Up North Tournament. They will face the host, Minnesota-Duluth on Thursday night, then Barry and St. Cloud State on Friday in St. Cloud, Minnesota, then return to Duluth Saturday to face Adelphi.

Duluth placed three players on the McKendree Tournament All-Tournament Team in middle hitter Kylie Broten, who also won the tournament MVP, setter Ava Jones and right side hitter Madeline Guetzkow.

The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are 4-0 on the season, winning all four matches at McKendree.

The Barry Buccaneers are 2-0 on the season after defeating Malone and D’Youville in Miami Shores, Florida.

St. Cloud was ranked No. 3 to start the season, but split their opening weekend, losing to Simon Frazer and No. 4 San Francisco State, before defeating Western Washington and Central Washington during the Western Washington Invitational.

The Adelphi Panthers are 1-3 on the season after struggling through the 2025 Opening Roar. They lost to No. 1 Lynn University and to No. 19 Gannon before defeating Belmont Abbey. They followed that win up with a loss to Post University.