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Pindral has good feeling about second season at helm of Huskies volleyball

HOUGHTON -- Her first season at the helm of the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team did not go exactly as planned for head coach Cindy Pindral. The Huskies finished 12-16, including two five-set losses to Northern Michigan and a tough three-set loss to Wayne State in the GLIAC quarterfinals to end the season.

Pindral said she learned just about as much from the players as they learned from her.

"I think there were a lot of things that I didn’t know that I know now," said Pindral, who previously served as an assistant coach with the Huskies from 2016-22. "Just kind of coming into a team where I didn’t quite know the team dynamics super well, didn’t quite know some of the interpersonal, behind-the-scenes things that were going on. So, there was a huge learning curve for me in terms of where the culture was, what are some of the things that needed to be developed, what were some of the things off the court that needed to be put in place, or redefined, or whatever."

Heading into her second season, Pindral feels more prepared.

"We did a lot of work in the spring in terms of organizing ourselves, learning about our roles, and how each of us can contribute to certain roles, and the timing of the roles," she said. "We’re doing a lot of player development, lots of team meetings on learning styles, and all the different things. We’re trying to learn each other better, and we’re in a really good spot right now in doing so."

Pindral mentioned that one of the things the team is learning is how to improve their social media presence, but that is just one small part of teambuilding. They are also focusing on everything from how they want to attack to how they want to defend, all those aspects of volleyball that can make them successful.

Offensive thinking

A pair of players who shone through as the season went along were the two "local" players in Madelynn Kreider, from Kingsford, and Madelyn Torola, from Calumet. As freshmen, both earned critical roles as the season moved along.

"We were both very pleasantly surprised by the immediate impact that both Maddies were able to have on the team last year," Pindral said. "They have been very integral in establishing our culture. They’re fiery competitors. They want to win, but they want to do it in the right way."

Pindral loves how both players fit in right away. She pointed first to Kreider, a setter.

"It was so seamless with those two in particular," said Pindral. "Maddie Kreider is just a next-level setter. She is so good, and she refuses to lose. She’s truly the heartbeat of our team, and it’s really awesome to see her thrive.

"If you can believe it, she’s even gotten better over the summer. I’m really looking forward to everyone being able to see how much she’s developed even from last year to this year."

Torola is working this season on enlarging her role.

"Maddie Torola has really taken full ownership of her development," Pindral said. "We worked a ton in the Spring on six rotations with her. Instead of just being kind of a one dimensional front row player, she took it upon herself to become a quality passer, and play good defense. She’s really making herself a viable option for playing six rotations.

"Her serve has improved and that’s all her. We’re giving feedback, and we’re constructing drills, but we saw her in the gym by herself, or with one other person, all the time, all Spring, just getting extra reps. So she has completely taken it on herself to take her game to the next level."

Senior pin Rachel Zurek has spent each of her first three years in Houghton playing primarily in the middle or the right side, but this year, she will take on a newer task, playing the left side, where she found some success in the second half of last season.

"She has really tapped into the learning mentality aspect," said Pindral. "It’s not easy to play three different attacking positions. There’s some similarities between all three of them, and you can kind of go through each one, but she has really upped her mental side of the game in the sense that she approaches every day with a learning mindset. She’s very receptive to feedback, and she’s always looking for ways to improve."

Pindral mentioned that, in past seasons, Zurek tended to try to drive the ball through the floor. Now, she is learning to mix in softer shots, which could make her even more effective.

In between Zurek and Torola are the Huskies' real offensive strength, three middle blockers who can all play. Two are upperclassmen in senior Tricia Kennedy and junior Paige Wagner, and then freshman Laney Knaack. With veterans in front of her, Knaack won't be counted on immediately, but she will have good leaders to learn from.

Wagner and Kennedy will be tasked with working harder on the block, which could open options in the attack for both Zurek and Torola.

Wagner was elected team captain. Pindral loves the way she connects with her teammates.

"Paige is our captain," Pindral said. "She was elected captain in the Spring, and she embodies everything that a captain is and should be. She’s just an excellent person. She’ll probably win a Nobel Prize at some point in her life. She’s just that type of a kid.

"She’s very detail oriented. She is very compassionate, very empathetic, and relates to everybody on the team very well. She is an excellent presence in the locker room, and just does all the little things possible. She is very intentional and forward-thinking, all the things you want on the court."

Looking at the back row

As good and as deep as the offense is, the Huskies have spent the last few seasons struggling in the back row, which has cost them opportunities to earn more wins. Pindral made that a focus in the offseason.

"This, in my opinion, has been our biggest improvement," she said. "There was a time last year where I kind of joked that we were a little bit like an NBA team. We could score all we want, but then the other team can score easily too, that’s why the scores are like 100, 105, or whatever.

"Our defense has improved so much."

The new back row starts with defensive specialist Keeley Nellis, who transferred to Michigan Tech as a junior from Lamar University, a DI program.

"She was training with us this Spring," Pindral said. "She is a lights-out defender. She is absolutely fearless. She is chirpy. The fans are going to absolutely love her, because she is just like a fireball of energy, and a very talented player too.

"She’s a little showboaty, too. She’s one of the smallest people on our team. I love her."

Junior libero Amelia Albers is the polar opposite of Nellis, but that is what Pindral loves about the dynamic that is already developing between the two.

"She’s a steady eddy person, a very calm presence," said Pindral. "You know what you’re going to get out of her every year.

"You need different personalities to make things work. If everybody was a fireball of energy, it would be chaotic, and we would be crashing into each other, and it would be a lot. So there needs to be an energy person, there needs to be a steady eddy person, there needs to be a driver person, there needs to be all the different things."

Starting this season on the other side of the court will be senior Brynn Erickson, who missed most of last season with an injury. Her game is more like Nellis', and Pindral is excited for her to show what she is capable of.

"She’s still mentally tough, and she’s very forward thinking," said Pindral. "She did everything right with her rehab. She was up here all Summer, going to P.T., doing extra reps, lifting, all the things. So, she has gotten her body in a spot. Of course, there’s always going to be some nagging pains and stuff like that. That was a major injury. But, she’s done everything right in terms of the rehab, and she’s playing fearlessly."

Last year, there were balls that fell out of reach for the back line more often than Pindral preferred. So, that became a focus heading into this year.

"We had a lot of balls drop last year with like kind of medium effort, or no effort, and that was kind of the bane of my existence last year," she said. "This year, we really have a lot of a go-for-the-ball mentality.

"We’ve established a bunch of principles of play. It's just standards of how we should be playing. One of them is get dirty. So, whenever a ball is sketchy, maybe we may not get it or whatever, it doesn’t matter. We’re still going to go for it. We’re going to get dirty, get our shirts dirty on the floor."

Early impact

When asked about which freshmen could have an impact this season, Pindral did not hesitate to include a 5-foot-10 outside hitter in Reagan Lesley and Knaack. However, she also mentioned 5-foot-8 outside hitter Kayla Heinonen.

Heinonen has grown up around Michigan Tech volleyball, as her older sister Elle played from 2014-17. Her older brother Tyler was a hockey player for the Huskies from 2013-17.

Pindral jokes that she lumps Kayla in with the Maddies.

"I kind of lump Kayla in with the two U.P. kids, because Kayla spent so much time up hare," said Pindral. "Tyler lives in Negaunee or Ishpeming, and grandma, I believe, lives locally. But, I kind of lump her in with the local kids too, just because of how much time she spent up here."

Schedule

The Huskies will open the season at home with Minnesota-Duluth on Thursday, Aug. 27, as part of the UP North Tournament. They will follow that up with three matches in Marquette against St. Cloud State, Cal State-East Bay, and Winona State. Then they will head to the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, for the Mountain Lion Classic, where they will play the hosts, St. Edward's, South Dakota Mines, and Midwestern State.

For Pindral, a return to UCCS, where she played her collegiate volleyball, will be special.

"That’s where I played, and I’m good friends with their coach," she said. "As an alumni of UCCS, I’m really excited, because they have been very successful. They were in the NCAA Tournament last year. They were just voted in the preseason poll to finish number one in the RMC (Rocky Mountain Conference)."