Three Huskies Named All-GLIAC; Pohlod First Team Selection
BAY CITY, Mich. – Three Michigan Tech volleyball players were named All-GLIAC Saturday (Nov. 19) evening. Rachel Pohlod was named to the First Team, Aubrey Ficek Second Team, and Stephanie Dietrich Honorable Mention.
Pohlod, a senior setter from Pittsburgh, Pa., had career highs this year in assists (1,238), digs (361), blocks (27), assists in a match (68), and digs in match (27). She ranked first in the GLIAC in assists per set, fourth in aces per set, and 27th in digs per set. Pohlod's 1,238 assists in 2016 rank second in a single season in Tech history and were 16th in the nation. Her 3,107 career assists and 1,223 career digs both rank fourth in Tech history. She averaged 3.02 digs per set in her career—eighth in school history. Pohlod led all GLIAC setters in assists per set, digs per set, and aces. She was a team co-captain and named to the CoSIDA All-District First Team for her 3.99 grade point average in mechanical engineering.
Ficek, a senior outside hitter from Lockport, Ill., had career highs in kills (419), kills per set (3.49), points (455), points per set (3.8), hitting percentage (.192), digs (164), blocks (27), blocks per set (.23), kills in a match (30), and digs in a match (17). She was fourth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.51), seventh in points, and eighth in points per set, ranking 37th in the nation in total kills. Ficek had double digit kills in 27-of-31 matches in 2016 and finished her career with 1,044 kills, averaging 2.93 per set. She was named the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week on October 24.
Dietrich is a junior middle blocker from Stillwater, Minn. She led the GLIAC in hitting percentage (.352) to rank 68th nationally and was one of only seven GLIAC players to hit over .300 in 2016. She had career highs this year in hitting percentage (.327), blocks (60), blocks per set (.52), points (258), digs (46), and digs per set (.40). She is a career .309 hitter and had six matches in 2016 with double digit kills and 11 matches with three or more total blocks.
Tech finished the season with a 16-15 overall record and an 11-6 mark in the GLIAC. The Huskies qualified for their second GLIAC Tournament in a row, earning the No. 5 seed.