Trending
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- With a win Saturday over the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball team continued their .500 start to the season as they improved to 5-5 with the four-set victory and 1-1 in GLIAC play.
The Huskies had lost to Davenport in five sets Friday,
Huskies defeat Cardinals 3-1 on the road
The Huskies won 3-1 against the Cardinals Saturday afternoon. The Huskies won the first set and the last two, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, and 25-22.
“It was a very well-earned team win today,” Huskies coach Cindy Pindral said. “I’m proud of the way we were determined to compete and perform from the very beginning of the match all the way through to the end.
“Rachel Zurek had a monster game and proved that she can absolutely take over a match. Maddy Kreider was in total control of our offense today and did a great job mixing it up and finding advantages for our attackers at the net. Keeley continues to impress with so many quality digs and by being an anchor in the backcourt.”
The Huskies never trailed in the opening set and were led by Zurek, a senior outside hitter, with five kills on 10 swings. The home team tied the match in the second. Zurek had seven kills in the second, but SVSU hit .385 and had seven blocks.
Michigan Tech overcame 10 ties and a pair of lead changes in the third to take the lead. Zurek continued her dominant play with seven kills. The Huskies quickly built a five-point lead in the fourth and never trailed. Zurek had the setpoint kill and the match-clinching kill.
Zurek finished with a career-high 25 kills while hitting .380. Junior middle blocker Paige Wagner added 11 kills, and freshman outside hitter Kayla Heinonen had seven kills and 10 digs. Kreider, a sophomore setter, set the offense with 45 assists and added 15 digs.
Junior libero Keeley Nellis tallied 22 digs.
Jackie Scheiber led the Cardinals with 12 kills. Taylor Smith tallied 31 assists, and Kendall White had 18 digs.
Huskies drop conference opener at Davenport
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Huskies fell 3-2 at Davenport on Friday. The Panthers won 25-20, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, and 15-10 in the GLIAC opener for both teams. Davenport improved to 7-1.
“We played hard against a tough Davenport team that has been off to a hot start this season,” Pindral said. “Another 5-set battle where we found ourselves up at times, down at times, and everything in between. We will continue to work on execution in crunch time and stringing together consistent offense over longer periods of time.”
The first set had six ties and three lead changes before the home team took control midway through. Heinonen had seven kills in the second, helping the Huskies tie the match.
After the break, Tech never trailed in the third and had four different players with at least two kills. Davenport forced a fifth set after scoring nine of the last 12 points in the fourth.
In the fifth, there were five ties and two lead changes. DU hit .348 and got six kills from Savanah Weathers, including the final three points.
Heinonen tallied a season-high 16 kills to lead the Huskies offense while adding nine digs. Zurek added 13 kills. Kreider set the attack with 45 assists and added 11 digs.
Nellis recorded a match-high 25 digs.
Weathers led the Panthers with 15 kills, Kiera Dommer tallied 24 assists, and Hayley Carr had 16 digs.
Up next
Michigan Tech returns to the SDC Gym next weekend to host Ferris State on Friday and Davenport on Saturday on Alumni Weekend.