Volleyball Hands Out Team Awards; Ficek and Pohlod Named MVP

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team recently handed out its team awards. Seniors Aubrey Ficek and Rachel Pohlod were named co-Most Valuable Players, junior Stephanie Dietrich was named the Most Improved Player for the second time in her career, Kristine Fink received the Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award, and Elle Heinonen took home the Digger Award.

Pohlod, a 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 was a team co-captain, All-GLIAC First Team selection and named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Second Team.

Ficek, an 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 an All-GLIAC Second Team selection and a team co-captain.

"There's no way an MVP can be named this year that doesn't include both Aubrey and Rachel," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "Their value to the team this season is plain to see, but their impact on the program over four years is more lasting. From a 6-12 GLIAC finish as freshmen to a tie for fourth at 11-6 this year as seniors, was made possible in large part because of what they each brought to the team.

"They were among the conference's two best players, at their respective positions, and were our team's leading performers in general. They each played all six rotations. Considering that each stands at 5-7 max, the overall power, speed, and output these two put out this season was incredible. We were lucky to have been front seat to watch these two play out their senior year."

Dietrich is a 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.

"Steph has been one of our most effective players each of her three seasons on the team and was a GLIAC Honorable Mention pick this year," added Jennings. "She won this award as a freshman because of the measurable improvement she made from start to finish. This year however, is meant to recognize her development as an impact player. We at times were riding on Steph's hot play, and I'm convinced that her performance got us through some tough stretches.

"While she too set many career highs this year, to me, the most improved parts of Steph's game were harder to track or stat. Her net play overall was much better, especially defensively, but where she took her game to the next level was in transition. We were playing our best ball as a team when Steph got going in transition. She's one of our most coachable and likable Huskies and a real hard worker."

Fink is a defensive specialist from Scarsdale, NY. She appeared in all 31 matches, tallying 85 digs, 13 service aces, seven assists, and three kills.

"Kristine is a great example of what it means to be a good teammate," said Jennings. "As a freshman, she contributed to the team's match production by playing in all 31 matches as a serving specialist and as a passer. It doesn't matter what you ask her to do, she'll do it with the same enthusiasm typically reserved for the more coveted moments in team sports.

"I've never met a more authentically positive personality or a player that is this willing to help her team. She is the kind of person every team is lucky to have. She always sees the positive side of things and has a genuine interest in making others happy and feel good."

Heinonen, a libero/defensive specialist from Delano, Minn., led the Huskies with 454 digs. She played in all 31 matches and 120 sets, averaging 3.78 digs per set. Heinonen also tallied 64 assists and 21 aces.

"Elle finished with the fourth most total digs and the sixth most digs per set among all league players in GLIAC play this season," Jennings said. "Elle put up a 38-dig performance against Lake Erie, breaking the single-match dig record set just last season by Jackie Aird. Sher took her defense to another level down the stretch of the season and put together an incredible string of defense performances, averaging over six digs a set, a level unheard of over that many matches.

"Elle is another great example of what it means to be a good person, a good teammate, and a hard worker. Elle has an infectious personality, is universally respected by her team, a competitor who understands what it means to play hard and with others, and how to have fun while doing it."

Tech finished 2016 with a 16-15 overall record and an 11-6 mark in the GLIAC. The Huskies have appeared in the GLIAC Tournament in back-to-back years, winning over 15 matches each season. They finished tied for fourth in the GLIAC standings and made an appearance in the regional rankings after playing one of the toughest schedules in all of NCAA Division II.