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CHICAGO -- With a comeback win at No. 19 Grand Valley State Friday and a sweep Saturday at Roosevelt, the Michigan Tech Huskies moved above .500 again for the season.
The Huskies are now 12-11 overall and 7-5 in GLIAC play, which keeps them in a four-way tie for third in the conference, along with Davenport, Saginaw Valley State, and Northern Michigan.
Huskies 3, Roosevelt 0
The Huskies swept Roosevelt 3-0 Saturday at the Goodman Center, sweeping the final road trip of the regular season. The Huskies won 25-19, 25-15, and 25-17.
“We did a nice job today focusing on our 'controllables' and sticking to our style of play to earn an important road win,” Huskies coach Cindy Pindral said. “Reagan (Lesley) and Tricia (Kennedy) had a nice day on offense, and Amelia (Albers) and Madelyn Elsen went on crucial serving runs.
"We are looking forward to a long home stand to finish up the regular season.”
The Huskies closed the first set on a 10-4 run. There were 10 ties and three lead changes in the opening frame, and Lesley, a freshman outside hitter, paced the Huskies with five kills.
Michigan Tech never trailed in the second set, jumping out to a commanding 20-8 lead and cruising to a 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead at the break. Four different Huskies had at least two kills.
Roosevelt led by four early in the third, but the Huskies ripped off 13 of the match’s final 15 points to take the sweep. Senior outside hitter Rachel Zurek had six kills in the third.
Lesley led the Huskies for the second match in a row with 14 kills while hitting a blistering .571. Zurek added nine kills, and freshman outside hitter Kayla Heinonen finished with seven. Sophomore setter Madelynn Kreider set the attack with 30 assists, and junior libero Keeley Nellis dug up a match-high 14 balls.
Colby Watson and Lillian Hallahan led the Lakers with seven kills. Merryck Brackett had 21 assists, and Cassandra Lange tallied 13 digs.
Huskies 3, Grand Valley State 2
ALLENDALE -- The Huskies earned a reverse sweep, 3-2 victory, at No. 19 Grand Valley State Friday. After trailing 2-0, the Huskies won 25-17, 25-19, and 15-13.
“Tonight’s win was incredible, and I’m so proud of our team for focusing on the process and trusting our preparation,” Pindral said. “We know that we are a quality team and have shown time and time again that we are resilient and tough. Tonight, we earned our win with tough serving, making incredible defensive plays, and our offense coming alive. Major props to freshman Reagan Lesley for stepping up tonight and putting on an absolute clinic.”
The Lakers won 25-15 and 25-20 in the first two sets. The Huskies never trailed in the third, building an eight-point lead and never turning back. They hit .375 while Lesley put down seven kills.
Michigan Tech built another early eight-point advantage in the fourth and forced a fifth set for the 11th time this season. Lesley and Zurek combined for eight kills in the fourth.
In the fifth, GVSU jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead. Pindral called a timeout, and the Huskies reeled off seven straight points to take the lead. Tied at 13, junior middle blocker Paige Wagner made it match point with a kill that was confirmed after a challenge, and then an attacking error by the Lakers gave the Huskies the win.
Lesley put down a season-high 20 kills while hitting .375. Zurek tallied 15 kills while Heinonen and Kennedy added 10 kills each. Kreider set the attack with 48 assists and added 23 digs. Nellis recorded a match-high 23 digs.
Four Lakers had double-digit kills, and Gabby Orlet set the offense with 46 assists. Finley Arp tallied 19 digs for the home team.
Up next
Michigan Tech hosts the final four matches of the regular season at the SDC Gym, beginning next weekend against Wayne State and No. 19 Grand Valley State.