Huskies take down Bulldogs in five Friday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ferris State (5-2) | 25 | 14 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (4-1) | 21 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team defeated No. 25 Ferris State 3-2 Friday at the SDC Gym, winning the final two sets to improve to 4-1. The Huskies won 21-25, 25-14, 20-25, 25-20, 15-5 to defeat the Bulldogs for the first time since November 9, 2009 and snap an 18-match losing streak to FSU.
"It feels great," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "That was a hard-fought win against a great team. It didn't come easy and we didn't expect that it would.
"I'm proud of the way we battled today and the way we bounced back in the second. We kept getting better as the match went on and finished strong in the fifth."
Down 2-1 entering the fourth set, the Huskies found themselves down 5-1 early and battled back to a 9-9 tie. The two teams battled through four ties before the Huskies took command with four straight points to take a 21-17 lead. The teams traded attacking errors and Olivia Ghormley made it set point with a kill. Another error by the Bulldogs gave Tech a 25-20 win and a 2-2 match tie.
Tech dominated the fifth set. The Black and Gold scored five of the first six points and never looked back. Janie Grindland, Olivia Ghormley, and Jillian Kuizenga had two kills each and the Huskies hit a blistering .727 to pick up their fourth win of the year.
All nine Huskies available for the match contributed.
"When you face unexpected adversity like we have recently, you have to ask your players to step up," Jennings added. "I thought Jillian had just a brilliant match. Our middles did a great job and our outsides continued to do great work. Maggie stepped up again, and our seniors were phenomenal like they always are."
FSU (5-2) opened with a 25-21 win in set one after National Player of the Week Katie O'Connell and Keona Salesman combined for 10 kills.
The Huskies bounced back in the second with a 25-14 win after tallying 17 kills to only seven for Ferris. Tech used a 10-1 run to take command. Anna Jonynas and Olivia Ghormley had five kills each in the frame, and Megan Utlak dug up eight balls.
The Bulldogs won 25-20 in the third to take their second lead of the afternoon.
Olivia Ghormley led a balanced offensive attack for the Huskies with 20 kills. Jillian Kuizenga had a career-high 15 kills while hitting .393. Morgan Radtke also hit .300 and tallied 13 kills. Anna Jonynas had 11 kills and 16 digs.
Laura De Marchi set the offense with a season-high 60 assists while adding a season-best 17 digs. Megan Utlak also notched a season-high with 27 digs.
Tech controlled at the net with a 14-8 advantage in team blocks. Janie Grindland had 10 block assists, and one solo block to go along with nine kills. Kuizenga added six block assists.
The Huskies and Bulldogs will meet at noon on Saturday (Mar. 13) to wrap up the weekend.
