Michigan Tech setter Avery Brown (2) sets up an attack by middle blocker Tricia Kennedy (20) during a match against Saginaw Valley State Friday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With a four-set win over Saginaw Valley State on Friday and a three-set win over Lake Superior State Saturday, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team improved to 12-15 overall and a 9-7 in GLIAC play. While they did manage to finish tied for fifth, record-wise, the Huskies finished as the seventh seed for the GLIAC Tournament, which starts Wednesday.

Huskies volleyball needs four sets to win Friday

The Huskies needed four sets to top the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals Friday night at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won the first, 25-23, and the second, 25-15, before dropping the third, 25-23. They trailed 20-16 in the fourth before closing the gap and finally earning the win, 26-24.

Huskies first-year head coach Cindy Pindral felt there were areas where the Huskies played well, and others where they seemed to struggle.

“We like to make it difficult,” said Pindral. “We got that one for sure. We did not play our best, at least in ball control, and then with our outsides, it’s not our best game. We got blocked way too much, and we let way too many balls fall on defense. Our serve-receive was not as crisp as it should be.

“At the same time, our middles were basically unstoppable, and Maddy Torola had a great game. So, hot and cold in a couple of different areas. I would appreciate a game where we all show up at the same time. Maybe that’ll be the quarterfinal, but I don’t know. We’re learning.”

Junior right side hitter Rachel Zurek paced the Huskies with 14 kills, six of which came in the second set. Sophomore middle blocker Paige Wagner finished with 13 kills. Junior middle blocker Tricia Kennedy racked up 10, along with two solo blocks and three block assists.

While the Huskies struggled as a team in the third set, freshman right side hitter Madelyn Torola thrived. She had five kills prior to the third set and finished that set with eight, giving her 13 on the night.

“She’s doing a great job,” Pindral said. “I’m probably repeating myself from last week, but she comes into the gym for extra reps all the time. She’s always asking for extra touches. When we have a goal set for you need X amount of good passes, or something like that, she stays in there and gets like, five extra, and no one’s telling her to do that. So, I think she knows in kind of the position where, at the start of the season, she knew that she didn’t play a super high level club or anything like that, she knew that she needed to get any extra touches that she can. She’s just so intrinsically motivated to be a good player that you know that’s exactly what you want.”

Pindral liked a lot of what she saw in the second set and a large chunk of the third set.

“Our offense was clicking,” she said. “Our serve-receive was there. We were making the right reads on defense. We were serving tough. A little bit of everything was going well.

“It seemed like we just kind of let off the gas after doing a lot of the dirty work. So, yeah, we just have to finish out matches strong.”

Freshman setter Madelynn Kreider had 44 assists. Senior Avery Brown had five, along with an ace.

Huskies sweep Lakers on Senior Day

The Huskies wrapped up the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of Lake Superior State on Senior Day Saturday. The Huskies won 25-16, 25-22, and 25-23.

“It was important to get these two wins on the weekend and position ourselves the best we can in the standings,” Pindral said. “We’re happy we were able to win the match and win in three sets. It was an emotional day for our seniors.

“We’re excited to turn our attention to the GLIAC Tournament. It’s a fresh slate for us, and we have a great opportunity in front of us.”

Michigan Tech honored its six seniors on the court after Brown, Alayna Corwin, Brooke Dzwik, Julia Fledderjohn, Meg Raabe, and Makena Wesol made their final appearance at the SDC Gym.

The Huskies never trailed in the opening set and led by as many as eight before Dzwik’s ace put the home team up. Dzwik and Zurek each had six kills in the set, and Tech hit .405.

In the second set, Fledderjohn served six straight to give the Huskies the lead. The Lakers made a late push before a kill by Wagner made it setpoint, and Dzwik put down a kill for the winner and a 2-0 lead at the break.

Wagner had six kills in the second for the Black and Gold.

There were 12 ties and nine lead changes in the third. The Lakers held a 13-10 advantage before the Huskies went on a 10-5 run. Brown and Kennedy teamed up on a block for match point, and then Kennedy put down the winner for the sweep. Zurek had six kills in the third.

Zurek tallied a match-high 13 kills while Dzwik (11) and Wagner (10) were also in double figures in kills.

Kreider had 37 assists, while Fledderjohn (7), and Brown (3) chipped in to setting duties. Fledderjohn had a match-high 21 digs, hitting the 20-dig mark for the ninth time this season. Kreider (14), Corwin (10), and junior defensive specialist Amelia Albers (10) also had double-digit digs.

Up next

The Huskies will be on the road Wednesday when they travel to face second-seeded Wayne State in Detroit.