Huskies sweep Saturday to go 4-0 on weekend

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Michigan Tech went 4-0 at the Capital Classic Volleyball Tournament hosted by Illinois Springfield. The Huskies wrapped up the weekend with a pair of 3-0 sweeps Saturday (Sept. 11), taking down Lake Erie in the morning and host UIS in the evening.

"We finished really strong today and ended the weekend having accomplished what we came here to do," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "We played pretty good ball both days, beat some good teams, and got a little better in a few different areas of our game. Maybe most importantly, we came together as a unit during this trip."

Michigan Tech 3, Lake Erie 0

The Huskies dismantled the Storm 25-14, 25-17, and 25-15. Tech forced LEC into 25 attacking errors while also out blocking the opponent 9-3.

Anna Jonynas led a balanced offensive attack with 10 kills. Jillian Kuizenga (9), Kaycee Meiners (8), Lindy Oujiri (7), Morgan Radtke (2), Laura De Marchi (2), Lauren Richards (1), and Lina Espejo-Ramirez (1) also tallied a kill.

De Marchi (19 assists) and Espejo-Ramirez (9 assists) set the attack, and Carissa Beyer led the backcourt with nine digs.

Michigan Tech 3, Illinois Springfield 0

Tech was the only team to go 4-0 at the tournament after defeating the Prairie Stars 25-21, 25-20, and 25-13 in the evening match.

Jonynas again led the Huskies offensively with 16 kills while hitting .421. Oujiri tallied a season-high 15 kills with Kuizenga (8) and Meiners (7) also notching more than six kills.

De Marchi set the attack with 40 assists and added 14 digs. Beyer had double-digit digs for the seventh time in eight matches this season.

"Our defense and passing were on point all weekend," added Jennings. "It was the difference-maker in last night's win versus Northwest Missouri and definitely against Illinois Springfield tonight. Megan passed particularly well all weekend, as did our other primary passers. Once our blocking and backcourt defense started really working in tandem, we made it pretty hard for those teams to score. We were finishing plays, extending rallies, and controlling the ball.

"Anna was fabulous this weekend, getting it done on the attack and in the backcourt. She continues to prove that she's one of the most well-rounded and talented players in our region. She's a lot of fun to watch play when she's in the zone.

"It was really good to see Laura back out there doing her thing too. She did a great job leading the march and putting our team in a position to win. That said, more than any weekend I can remember in some time, this was a total team effort, literally, everyone contributed in one way or another."

Tech is 5-3 on the season begins GLIAC play next week by hosting Grand Valley State (Sept. 17), Davenport (Sept. 18), and Ferris State (Sept. 19) at the SDC Gym.