Michigan Tech right side hitter Madelyn Torola (3) and middle blocker Tricia Kennedy (20) leap to attempt a block during a match against Davenport Friday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team returned home this week for a pair of matches against teams ahead of them in the GLIAC standings. Friday, they needed five sets to defeat the Davenport Panthers. Saturday, they won the first set in stunning, come-from-behind fashion before dropping the final three sets in a loss to the Ferris State Bulldogs.

With the split, the Huskies moved to 10-15 overall and 7-7 in GLIAC play.

Huskies top Davenport in five sets Friday

TheHuskies dropped their first set Friday against the Panthers, but won three of the next four to earn a five-set win at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won 23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 22-25, and 15-11.

The Huskies, who lost to the Panthers earlier this season, were looking for a chance at redemption, while also looking to close the gap between the two teams in the GLIAC standings.

“All week, the message has been we’re seeking revenge on this team for multiple reasons,” said Huskies coach Cindy Pindral, “the standings, our confidence, all of that. So, I’m very happy that, over time, we were able to really build momentum and put together a quality win.”

With the win, the Huskies closed to within a game of the Panthers and Purdue Northwest in the conference standings with all three jockeying for position.

However, the first set saw the Huskies struggle to put together multiple points. They would either tie things up, or get back within a point, but they could not seem to put together any kind of consistent run, leading to them dropping the set.

“I felt like we had steady energy and that it just increased over time,” Pindral said. “It’s not that we came out flat or anything like that. We were just kind of cruising. I think my message was like, it just kind of seems like we’re happy to be here, just kind of cruising, but we have to find another gear where we’re really playing to win and gunning for this team.”

The Huskies found that gear in the second set. After freshman right side hitter Madelyn Torola made it 10-9 in favor of Michigan Tech, the Huskies jumped ahead 14-10. The Panthers clawed back to 14-14, but after that, Michigan Tech never let them catch up again.

Junior right side hitter Rachel Zurek, who finished with a team-high 20 kills, had seven in the set.

As impressive as she was in that set, junior middle blocker Tricia Kennedy was as good in the third. She only had two kills in the set, but she assisted on three straight blocks in the late stages to lift the Huskies to a second set win.

“Just looking at the stat line, Tricia scored the second-most points overall, between her blocking and her kills,” said Pindral. “That’s awesome. She had almost 20 points total, and (was) ever-so-slightly below Rachel, who had 21. As an outside, she (Zurek) got more than double the sets. So, for a middle to come in, and make a huge contribution like that, that’s awesome.

“Tricia has been steady all season. She shows up every day ready to work, just super, great, steady. Never complains about anything. As a go-getter, she’s like, ‘Give me the ball, and I’ll find a way.’ So, I’m super happy that she’s stepping up this season.”

Despite losing the fourth set, the Huskies got great performances from Torola and sophomore middle blocker Paige Wagner, who had five of her 13 kills in the set.

In the fifth set, Torola rose to the occasion again in a big way. She finished her night with 12 kills, but the back-to-back kills she had in the tiebreaker for the seventh and eighth points, put the Huskies in control for the final points.

Freshman Madelynn Kreider also had a big night. She finished with 69 assists, three kills, and an ace.

“Maddie Torola is clutch,” Pindral said. “She is really working on rounding out her game. She comes in for so many extra reps. She’s one of the first ones in the gym, one of the last to leave.

“Same with Maddie Kreider. They’re always asking for extra reps. They’re always trying to find an advantage, or trying to get a connection. Specifically those two. They’re great friends off the court too. That obviously helps.”

Huskies fall in four Saturday

Despite winning the first set Saturday, 26-24, the Huskies could not slow down the Bulldogs enough over the next three sets, 25-22, 25-20, and 25-17, in a four-set loss to Ferris State.

“I feel like we started off hot,” said Pindral. “I thought that first set was a little sketchy at times, but then we found the gear that we were looking for at the end of that set, and we were able to make a nice run and come back.

“We had them at different portions, but then it just seemed like we went away from what we’re good at, and we started focusing on what they were doing instead of what we can do. So, it’s just a little bit disappointing that that was the result. It seemed like we ran out of gas, too.”

The Huskies fell behind 13-9 in the opening set when Pindral called a timeout. They still trailed by four, 21-17, when Wagner made a block, Torola and Wagner both made kills, and Dzwik closed things with an ace to earn the set win.

However, from there, the Huskies fought evenly through several early-set tie scores in each of the next three sets, but once the Bulldogs created some separation, there was nothing Michigan Tech could do to pull even again.

“We have to be better about putting ourselves out there,” Pindral said. “We clam up in moments where, I don’t even know the right way to say it, but it just seems like we clam up when we have an opportunity to do something amazing. So, we have to work on being more mentally tough and putting ourselves out there.”

Zurek led the Huskies with 20 kills.

“She’s doing her job, for sure,” said Pindral. “She’s working all week in practice. She’s working on her shots. We call it the offensive toolbox, all the different shots that you can possibly have. She’s really doing a good job of expanding that.

“She’s coming through in the clutch. She had 20 kills tonight, so that’s absolutely doing your job. She was efficient, and she’s recently turned into a six-rotation outside, which was not in the cards when we started the season.”

Pindral continues to be impressed with how much Zurek is contributing.

“With all due respect, she’s a middle turned right side turned outside,” Pindral said. “Usually, that career trajectory doesn’t include serve-receive, but she’s really stepped it up in the backcourt as well. So, now the challenge is having more than one person on every day.”

Up next

The Huskies have two more matches at home before the GLIAC Tournament. They will face Saginaw Valley State Friday and Lake Superior State Saturday.