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Posted: Sep 08, 2017

Huskies Continue Hot Streak; Sweeping Bemidji and Edging Past St. Cloud State

Huskies Continue Hot Streak; Sweeping Bemidji and Edging Past St. Cloud State Play Video
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HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Huskies came out victorious in their pair of matches at the Keweenaw Classic Tournament Friday (Sept. 8). The Huskies won 3-0 in their afternoon match vs. Bemidji State and won in five vs. St. Cloud State.

Afternoon Match vs. Bemidji State

Tech swept Bemidji State 25-16, 25-14, and 25-21 in the afternoon match. The Huskies controlled the pace and dominated in kill accuracy, hitting a .309 attack percentage.

Freshman Olivia Ghormley hit .750 with nine kills, Stephanie Dietrich chipped in six kills and two big blocks for the Huskies, and MacAulay Petersen added eight kills.

"This was a total team win," said head coach Matt Jennings. "We were particularly strong out of the gate with our attack and serve receive. Mariel did a good job running the offense and getting the ball to our hot hitters. Olivia was dominant at the net all match long."

Mariel Leibovitz stepped in as the setter in the final two sets leading the offense with 25 assists and adding a pair of services aces and two digs.

Evening Match vs. St. Cloud State

Tech and St. Cloud State were neck and neck in set one, the Huskies captured the win 25-23. The turning point for the Black and Gold was in set two when they scored 14 of 15 points to control and win 25-13. St. Cloud fought their way back into the match in set three, winning 25-16. Tech finished off St. Cloud with a 15-9 win in the fifth, scoring seven of the last eight points.

"What a tough and hard-fought win," said Jennings. "St. Cloud is a good team that is deep with talent and can rattle off points in a hurry. We match up pretty evenly and you saw that in tonight's match. I'm so proud of the way we battled and hung in there. To be down one to six in set five and come back from the brink like that is a major confidence boost for this group.

"Our blocking was clutch tonight and kept us in the match," Jennings added. "Mariah, Steph and Lauren had some big time stops for us at crucial points. MacAulay was really strong again for us. They had stuffed her a couple times there in the later sets, but she made the right adjustments and found a way to score when it counted."

As a team, the Huskies had a total of 12 blocks to match the St. Cloud State Huskies (12 blocks). Leading the team with 16 points each were Mariah Sherman with 12 kills and eight block assists and MacAulay Petersen hit 16 kills at .256. Lauren Emmert had 14 points under her belt with 12 kills and four block assists and a solo block. Laura DeMarchi had her fifth double double on the season, tallying 51 assists and 17 digs.

"Laura was working so hard out there in this one and once again played with impressive poise and confidence," added Jennings. "Her setting decisions were spot on and she kept us going when they were pushing us late in the match.

"What a great crowd tonight. We appreciate the support so much and are glad we could pull the win off for them. We hope everyone comes back out tomorrow against Duluth. It should be a great match."

Tech marches onward with its 4-2 overall record into the tournament finale on Saturday (Sept. 9) against No. 7-ranked Minnesota Duluth. First serve is set for 7 p.m. to conclude the Keweenaw Classic.