The Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team improved to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in the GLIAC with sweeps of both Lake Superior State and Saginaw Valley State this weekend.

Several Huskies had strong weekends for the Huskies.

Huskies sweep SVSU for fourth straight win

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. — The Huskies won its fourth straight match with a 3-0 sweep at Saginaw Valley State on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies won 28-26, 25-19, and 25-18 at Hamilton Gym.

“This was another important win for us today, and I’m glad that we were able to take care of the task at hand,” Huskies coach Cindy Pindral said. “We were challenged at times, especially in the first set, but we maintained composure and scored when it mattered most. Our serving game was strong, and we made it difficult for Saginaw to have a balanced offense.”

The opening set saw both teams go on a pair of 4-0 runs. There were 12 ties and five lead changes. The Huskies survived three setpoints. Junior right side hitter Rachel Zurek had a kill for Tech’s second setpoint and 27-26 lead, and then sophomore middle blocker Paige Wagner served an ace for the 28-26 win. Zurek was dominant with six kills on seven attempts in the first set.

In the second, the teams went through eight different lead changes. Trailing 19-18, the Huskies scored the last seven points to take a 2-0 lead at the break. Wagner served six of the points in the late rally with a pair of aces, and Zurek put down the winner, her fifth of the frame.

The Huskies used a 9-2 run in the middle of the third set to start taking control. The Cardinals made a push late, but Michigan Tech closed out the match, scoring four of the final five points with Zurek once again securing the final kill.

Zurek tallied a match-high 15 kills while hitting .519. Freshman right side hitter Madelyn Torola notched a season-best nine kills. Wagner tallied seven kills, five aces, and a pair of blocks. Junior outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy added six kills, junior setter Tess Hayes set the offense with 36 assists, and senior libero Julia Fledderjohn led with 11 digs.

“Rachel had another impressive outing,” added Pindral. “Her positive presence on the court is so vital to our team’s success, and she knows how to make big plays at crucial times.

“Paige was solid and efficient. She’s a strong net presence and is really developing her game in the backcourt as well.

“Madelyn Torola had a great match and had some clutch swings when we needed a momentum shift. She’s a fun player to coach and will only continue to get better in her time here.”

SVSU (6-9, 1-5 GLIAC) was led by Rachel Townsend with 14 kills and seven digs. Jackie Scheiber had 31 assists.

Huskies sweep Lakers in Friday volleyball

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The Huskies won its third straight GLIAC match with a 3-0 sweep at Lake Superior State on Friday. The Huskies won 25-13, 25-17, and 25-18 at Bud Cooper Gym.

“We took care of business tonight and executed our game plan well,” Pindral said. “Our serving, passing, and defense set the tone from the start, and we finished the job with quality offense. I’m happy with the win and looking forward to a tough opponent tomorrow.”

LSSU (0-9, 0-5 GLIAC) led early in the first set before the Huskies reeled off a 7-1 run and then scored 15 of the last 18 points to take a 1-0 lead. The Huskies hit .346 in the first set, and Tricia Kennedy had four kills.

The Huskies used a 9-1 rally early in the second to take control and never looked back. Zurek had three kills in the frame, including one to make it setpoint before freshman setter Madelynn Kreider served an ace for a 2-0 lead at the break.

The third set saw eight ties and a pair of lead changes. The Lakers kept it tight until the end when Tech scored the last four points for the 25-18 win. Senior outside hitter Brooke Dzwik put down four kills in the third while freshman middle blocker Amara Beaudoin and junior outside hitter Makena Wesol each added three with Wesol scoring the match-clincher from Kreider.

Dzwik led the Huskies with seven kills while junior middle blocker Tricia Kennedy and Wanger each added six. Hayes had 11 assists in the first set with Kreider tallying 18 assists in the final two frames. Sophomore defensive specialist Madelyn Elsen had seven digs while 11 other Huskies had at least one dig.

“Brooke had a great match and did a nice job controlling the first touch and providing kills at crucial times,” added Pindral. “Both middles — Paige and Tricia — were basically unstoppable on offense and came up with a lot of quality block touches.”

Up next

Tech returns home to host Northern Michigan on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the SDC Gym.