Huskies Sweep the Warriors 3-0 Saturday

DETROIT, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team swept the Wayne State Warriors 3-0 in the Matthaei Saturday (Sept. 30). The Huskies closed a tight first set 25-23 and second set 25-23 and took control in the third set to win the match 25-15. MacAulay Petersen led the Huskies with 11 kills.

"That was a big win and exactly what we needed to go out and do after last night," said Tech head coach Matt Jennings. "The way we responded is a reflection of how dialed in this group is right now. Wayne is first in the South and a good team with a ton of talent and experience. To come in and sweep them on their home court is a confidence booster for our team, especially as our youth continues to gain experience each week."

The Huskies hit a .239 attack percentage compared to the Warriors' .083. Stephanie Dietrich set the tone in set one with two big kills pushing the Huskies ahead for the entire set. Tech held strong again in set two, keeping a lead on Wayne State. MacAulay Petersen pounded two kills to finalize the 25-23 score in set two, setting the tone for set three.

"I was impressed with how we held our ground in those first two sets," Jennings added. "In each one, Wayne cut into our lead and was pressing us late in the set. Both times we stopped them and finished; that's growth.  In the third set, we came out of it and got rolling right away and they couldn't catch up. It was an impressive win altogether."

Offensively, the Black and Gold were led by Petersen with 11 kills, hitting .526. Petersen also added a pair of blocks and is currently ranked third in the GLIAC in kills, totaling 185. Mariah Sherman stepped up to tally seven kills.

"MacAulay played a really smart and clean match for us and was clutch all three sets," said Jennings. "Mariah continued her strong play at the pin and got the job done when we needed it."

Lauren Emmert chipped in five kills and five block assists, followed by teammate, Stephanie Dietrich, with five kills and three block assists. Olivia Ghomley was an assist to Tech's blocking game as well, recording four block assists.

"Today's key was blocking," added Jennings. "We had eleven in three sets and didn't have to rely on our offense so heavily to score. Steph and Lauren did an especially good job making it hard for them to score. Olivia stepped up her blocking in a big way as well."

Laura DeMarchi set the offense with 28 assists, three digs, and two blocks assists. Elle Heinonen held strong in the back row with 15 digs and added two aces. Freshman, Anna Jonynas also added three digs and three aces.

"Serving was solid again today and kept them just enough out of system to limit their ability to score," said Jennings. "Anna and Elle were both serving rockets back there."

The Huskies are back at home in the Varsity Gym of the Student Development Complex to take on Ashland, Friday (Oct. 6) at 5 p.m. and Davenport, Saturday (Oct. 7) at 4 p.m. Ashland is currently 10-5 overall and Davenport is 7-8.