Michigan Tech setter Tess Hayes (10) and middle blocker Tricia Kennedy (20) block a spike attempt from a Roosevelt player during a match Friday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — After opening the season 3-6, and with multiple injuries to key players, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team was in need of a weekend like the one they had in their first pair of home games of the season. On Friday, the Huskies swept the Roosevelt Lakers, 3-0, and then on Saturday, they defeated the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, 3-1.

Now the Huskies are 5-6 overall and 2-2 in GLIAC play, and feel much better about where they are at.

“(It) feels great, obviously,” said Huskies coach Cindy Pindral. “Great to win at home. That was really our goal for this weekend, to have a really strong start at home, and really set the tone.”

The Huskies did that in impressive fashion against the Lakers. They opened with a 25-10 set win, then followed that with 25-20 and 25-10 set wins. They followed that up four tight sets with the Rangers, but eventually emerged victorious, 25-23, 26-24, 25-27, and 25-22.

“It’s so hard to play in our varsity gym, and so we really want to take advantage of other teams traveling long distances that they might not be so used to being on the bus for that long,” Pindral said. “Also, our gym is amazing. Our atmosphere is amazing. I mean, with the Pep Band, we had a huge band on Friday. That really helped.

“Then we had a lot of parent, family, and student support both of those days. So, yeah, it was an awesome atmosphere. Happy to come away with two wins.”

A big reason for the Huskies’ success was the play of junior outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy, who led the Huskies with 12 kills against the Lakers. She followed that up with 16 kills and 17 digs against the Rangers. She is now the top attacker for the Huskies with 121 kills, and she is second in defense with 72 digs.

“Jackie’s position as an outside hitter, particularly as one that has to pass, play defense, block, and do just about everything in the book, is particularly tough,” said Pindral. “I’m really proud of Jackie for learning every single day. There’s so much that you can learn. Even the best of the best, even the pros are still learning all the time. So, Jackie continues to learn all the little ins and outs of volleyball.”

What makes Yancy so dangerous to opposing teams is that she possesses smaller shots along with her big swings.

“Everyone gets carried away with the big, heavy swings that bounce and hit the floor, but in my opinion, it’s the ones that get hit off the block, or just kind of like undefendable, but they’re not necessarily the flashy kills, those are my favorite ones,” Pindral. “She was able to adjust her game a little bit. Jackie was able to adjust, and her last couple of kills were just kind of soft off the block. We call those tools, where you just hit it off the block, and then it goes out of bounds and no one can play it. So, her last couple were like that. I’m really proud of her for adjusting and finding those kills in a crucial moment.”

Freshman right side hitter Madelyn Torola had a strong weekend in her home debut. The Calumet native had seven kills against the Lakers and then eight more against the Rangers. She made her first career start on Friday.

“She was brilliant on Friday,” said Pindral. “She was unstoppable. Our setters, Tess (Hayes), did a really good job of setting her against the flow, meaning the pass is a little bit left and the blockers tend to go left, and then we just fling it the other way. There’s usually a big hole in the block, or a 1-on-1 block. Maddie was navigating that really well.”

Pindral likes how Torola does not get too amped up, or fall off too far when things don’t go her way.

“Maddie is stoic,” Pindral sad. “She doesn’t bring a ton of emotion either way, which is good. She’s very steady. She fits in very well with the team. I’m pretty sure from Day One, it was over the summer, I wasn’t quite there all the time, but I’m pretty sure from Day One, she’s fit in perfectly with the team. She’s funny, she’s very sarcastic, and she’s a little self deprecating too.

“She never asks for attention. She doesn’t want attention. She just wants to do her job, and she wants to win. So, I think that’s a recipe for success. That’s exactly the way that someone should be as a freshman, or really any year, player.”

Scouting the Lakers

The Lake Superior State Lakers are off to a slow start, going 0-8 in their first eight matches of the season, including a pair of losses last weekend to Saginaw Valley State and Purdue Northwest.

Freshman right side hitter Elisa Rizzoli is off to a great start to her collegiate career with 46 kills to lead the team. She is also second in digs with 45.

Junior middle hitter Morgan Deming has 38 kills.

Scouting the Cardinals

The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals are 6-7 overall this season and 1-3 in GLIAC play after a split last weekend that saw them defeat Lake Superior State, but fall to Purdue Northwest.

The Cardinals are led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Rachel Townsend, who has 121 kills. She also is second on the team in digs with 109.

Sophomore outside hitter Chloe Vanwinkle is the only other Cardinals player with more than 80 kills at 89.

Game times

The Huskies and Lakers will face each other Friday at 7 p.m. in Sault Ste. Marie. Saturday, the Huskies and Cardinals are set for an opening serve of 4 p.m. in University Center.