PREVIEW: Volleyball hosts trio of matches at SDC

THIS WEEK'S MATCHES
• Michigan Tech hosts GLIAC South Division opponents Grand Valley State, Davenport, and Ferris State this weekend at the SDC Gym.
• Friday's match against the Lakers is at 5 p.m. Tech welcomes Davenport Saturday at 2 p.m. and Ferris State Sunday at 2 p.m.
• The Huskies are 5-3 overall and are riding a four-match winning streak.

ON THE RADIO
• Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ will broadcast select volleyball matches again this season. Mitch Lake will call all the action from the SDC Gym.
• The Huskies will be on the radio on Friday against Grand Valley and Sunday versus Ferris State.

WATCH THE MATCHES
• Visit MichiganTechHuskies.com to watch the 2021 home matches live and on-demand.
• Fans can watch the 2021 season for $88 or each match for $8.

GLIAC NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior Anna Jonynas is the GLIAC Volleyball North Division Player of the Week.
• She tallied 52 kills at the Capital Classic, averaging 4.7 per set while hitting .314. She added 47 digs (3.6 per set) and four aces.
• Jonynas ranks fifth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.59), 11th in digs per set (3.45), and 12th in hitting percentage (.265).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• GVSU is 4-4 on the season. The Lakers were the top pick in the South Division in the preseason poll after going 12-4 during the spring season.
• Davenport is 5-3 so far this season. The Panthers were third in the South in the preseason poll and went 11-7 during the spring.
• FSU is 5-2 this season. The Bulldogs begin their weekend at Northern Michigan on Friday and were picked second in the GLIAC South.

LAST MEETINGS
• GVSU – The teams split their weekend in Allendale during the spring. Tech swept Friday and fell 3-2 Saturday with three of the five sets being decided by two points.
• DU – The Huskies and Panthers didn't meet in the spring. The last time they met was two years ago on September 20, 2019 in Grand Rapids. Tech won 3-1, taking the final two sets.
• FSU – Tech went 3-0 against the Bulldogs during the spring season. The dog fight began up in Houghton where the Huskies won 3-2 and 3-1 on March 12-13. The teams met in the GLIAC Semifinal with Tech advancing with a sweep.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Laura De Marchi leads NCAA Division II in assists per set (12.05).
• Tech leads the GLIAC and is seventh in the nation in kills per set (14.59).
• The Huskies lead the GLIAC in hitting percentage (.220).
• Tech is third in the GLIAC in digs per set (17.07).
• Anna Jonynas is fifth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.59).
• Carissa Beyer is fourth in the GLIAC in digs (124).

CAPITAL CLASSIC
• Michigan Tech went 4-0 at the Illinois Springfield Capital Classic last weekend.
• The Huskies swept three of the four with sweeps over McKendree, Lake Erie, and UIS. The Black and Gold also defeated No. 8 Northwest Missouri State 3-1 Friday.
• Olivia Ghormley (4.67 k/s) and Anna Jonynas (4.0 k/s) led the attack. Laura De Marchi (11.8 a/s) set the offense and Carissa Beyer (4.8 d/s) led the defense.

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
• In the 2021 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Huskies led the North with 51 points and four first-place votes. Northern Michigan was one point back while also taking a pair of first-place votes. Northwood (34), Wayne State (28), Saginaw Valley State (22), and Lake Superior State (10) rounded out the North in spots three through six.
• Grand Valley State was the top choice in the South Division with 44 points and four first-place votes. Ferris State garnered 39 points and one vote. Davenport (31) was third followed by Parkside (19) and Purdue Northwest (12).

AVCA POLL
• Tech has received votes in all three AVCA Top 25 polls. The Huskies are No. 27 this week.
• Ferris State also received votes in the poll this week.
• The Huskies were ranked in eight AVCA Top 25 polls during the spring season and finished at No. 24.

MILESTONE MARKS
• Laura De Marchi – 4,578assists (1st in program history)
• Olivia Ghormley – 1,494 kills (3rd in program history)
• Megan Utlak – 1,647 digs (2nd in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 1,438 digs (6th in program history)
• Laura De Marchi – 1,134 digs (9th in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 897 kills (12th in program history)

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 10th season and has won 151 matches overall.
• Under Jennings, the Huskies have gone from last place in the conference to nationally ranked and consistently in the NCAA Tournament.
• Jennings has coached the Huskies to three straight NCAA tournament appearances and the program's first NCAA win since 1995.
• He was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2017 and led the team to a program record of 10 straight wins to start the 2016 season.
• The 2021 spring team won a GLIAC Regular Season title for the second time in program history

LAST SEASON
Tech went 11-4 overall last season and held a 9-3 GLIAC mark to capture the program's second GLIAC North Division title.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
• Laura De Marchi was named an Academic All-American in 2020-21 to become the fourth Michigan Tech volleyball to earn the award.
• She led NCAA Division II setters with 12.72 assists per set in the spring.
• De Marchi set the school record for career assists on April 2 and also holds the school records for career assists per set (11.8) and season assists per set (12.72).
• De Marchi also reached 1,000 career digs in 2021.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNEES
• Laura De Marchi – GLIAC Player of the Year, 4-time GLIAC Setter of the Year, 4-time All-GLIAC First Team, GLIAC Freshman of the Year
• Olivia Ghormley – 3-time GLIAC Attacker of the Year, 3-time All-GLIAC First Team
• Anna Jonynas – All-GLIAC First Team
• Megan Utlak – All-GLIAC Second Team, 2-time All-GLIAC Honorable Mention
• Janie Grindland – All-GLIAC Second Team,
• Jillian Kuizenga – All-GLIAC Honorable Mention

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• A trip to Lake Superior State (Sept. 24) and Northwood (Sept. 25) wraps up the first month of the season.
• October opens with three home matches. The Huskies host Wayne State (Oct. 1), Saginaw Valley State (Oct. 2), and Northern Michigan (Oct. 9).