Volleyball sweeps LSSU for GLIAC home win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michigan Tech (7-4,1-3 GLIAC) | 25 | 25 | 30 | 3 |
|
Lake Superior State (1-11,0-4 GLIAC) | 23 | 11 | 28 | 0 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team swept Lake Superior State 3-0 Saturday (Sept. 17) at the SDC Gym, defeating the Lakers for the 23rd straight match. The Huskies won 25-23, 25-11, and 30-28 to improve to 7-4 overall and 1-3 in the GLIAC.
"It felt really good to get the win," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "This is exactly what we needed. I'm proud that we responded after last night and that we went out there and earned it."
There were seven ties and five lead changes in the first set. Down 18-17, Tech scored five straight to take control, and then late kills by Brooke Dzwik and Jillian Kuizenga put the home team in front. Kuizenga racked up six kills in the first.
Olivia Heidel served the Huskies to a 10-0 lead to begin the second. Morgan Radtke and Kuizenga each had a pair of kills during the run. The lead ballooned to 14 as the Huskies hit .350 and took a commanding second set win for a 2-0 lead.
LSSU (1-11, 0-4) wouldn't go away quietly in the third. The teams battled through 12 ties and nine lead changes. The Huskies built a six-point lead before the Lakers battled back to tie it at 23. Tech had three match points and LSSU had three set points before Meg Raabe notched a kill, Kate Walch had an ace, and Olivia Heidel and Janie Grindland teamed up on the match-winning block.
Jillian Kuizenga finished with a career-high 19 kills, including eight in the final set, all while hitting .607 and blocking five balls. Morgan Radke registered seven kills and three blocks and Janie Grindland contributed with six kills.
"It feels like a long time coming and that we're back in a groove," Kuizenga said. "The whole team felt cohesive today. We played really strong in the backcourt and that opened up a lot of options for our offense."
"We're trying to figure out who we are and part of that is having seniors lead the way and that's exactly what Jillian did today," added Jennings. "Once she gets going, she can be pretty hard to stop."
Olivia Heidel set the attack with a career-high 39 assists while adding four digs and four blocks. Carissa Beyer led with 15 digs, and Brooke Dzwik finished with 12 digs and five kills
The Huskies head 100 miles down US 41 for their first conference road match of the season on Tuesday at Northern Michigan.
"They have an experienced squad, and we have our work cut out for us," Jennings said "We're going to be prepared, and we're going to play with a little chip on our shoulder. I can't wait for it."
The Wildcats are 10-2 on the season. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Local fans can watch the match on FOX-UP.
