PREVIEW: Volleyball begins season against LSSU

TUESDAY'S MATCHES
• Michigan Tech opens the 2021 season this weekend by hosting Lake Superior State at the SDC Gym.
• The Huskies and Lakers will meet at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

WATCH THE MATCHES
• Visit MichiganTechHuskies.com to watch the 2021 spring home matches live and on-demand.
• Fans can watch the 2021 spring season for $50 or each match for $8.

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
• In the 2021 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Huskies led the North with 60 points. Ferris State was eight points back while also taking a pair of first-place votes. Northern Michigan (38), Saginaw Valley State (34), Northwood (20), and Lake Superior State (12) rounded out the North.
• Ashland was the top choice in the South Division with 56 points and eight first-place votes. Grand Valley State was six points back. Wayne State (43) was third followed by Davenport (34), Parkside (21), and Purdue Northwest (12).

AVCA POLL
• Tech the first team outside of the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll that was announced on January 5.
• Tech was ranked in the Top 25 in eight polls in 2019 and climbed as high as No. 20 on November 5.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
• Lake Superior State went 8-19 in 2019 and finished 11th in the GLIAC with a 2-14 record.
• The Lakers were picked sixth in the GLIAC North Division in the coaches' poll.
• Dave Schmidlin enters his fourth season as head coach of the Lakers.

LAST MEETINGS
• Tech defeated LSSU twice in 2019. The Huskies swept the Lakers at home and defeated them 3-1 in the Soo.
• Tech has defeated LSSU in 18 straight matches.

MILESTONES MARKS
• Olivia Ghormley – 1,266 kills (5th in program history)
• Laura De Marchi – 3,588 assists (3rd in program history)
• Megan Utlak – 1,296 digs (5th in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 1,117 digs (9th in program history)

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his ninth season and has won 135 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.

LAST SEASON
The Huskies finished last season with a 24-8 overall record, winning the most matches since 1996. They went to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season and advanced with the first NCAA win since 1995.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
• Laura De Marchi and Olivia Ghormley were named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division II Honorable Mention All-Americans in 2019. Both were honored by the organization for the second year in a row. Ghormley also added All-America Honorable Mention honors from the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA).
• De Marchi led the GLIAC in assists per set at 11.59 to rank seventh in the nation and sixth in program history. She also tallied 260 digs, 81 kills, 40 blocks, and 20 service aces.
• Ghormley finished third in the GLIAC in kills per set (4.03) and points per set (4.4). She tallied double-digit kills 25 times in 2019, including seven matches with 20 kills.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNEES
• Laura De Marchi – 3-time GLIAC Setter of the Year, 3-time All-GLIAC First Team
• Olivia Ghormley – 2-time GLIAC Attacker of the Year, 2-time All-GLIAC First Team
• Megan Utlak – 2-time All-GLIAC Honorable Mention

REST OF THE SCHEDULE
• Feb 27-28 at Northwood
• Mar. 5-6 vs. Purdue Northwest
• Mar. 12-13 vs. Ferris State
• Mar. 19-20 vs. Saginaw Valley State
• Mar. 26-27 at Grand Valley State
• Apr. 2 vs. Northern Michigan
• Apr. 3 at Northern Michigan