Huskies Upset by Findlay 3-1 Saturday at Crossover

AURORA, Ill. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team fought hard to win the first set to the Findlay Oilers (25-23), but were tripped up in set two (25-22), three (25-21) and four (25-17) at the Great Lakes Center. The Huskies wrapped up at the 2017 Midwest Region Crossover Tournament with a victory over Bellarmine and two losses.

"Credit should go to Findlay for playing a good match," said Michigan Tech head coach Matt Jennings. "They were strong offensively and with their serves. We had a hard time passing the ball, which is usually a strength of ours. I don't think we played our best ball, but we fought hard and didn't give up."

The Huskies held the upper hand, leading the entire first set. Olivia Ghormley pounded a kill to close set one 25-23. The Huskies went point for point throughout the second set, but Findlay took the lead. At one point in the third set, Tech trailed behind by nine points. Tech subbed in Kristine Fink to serve while Findlay was at set point (24-17) and gained some momentum to rally back to (24-21). The Huskies dropped the third and fourth set.

Three Huskies racked up double-digit kills; Mariah Sherman (13), MacAulay Petersen (10) and Lauren Emmert (10). Olivia Ghormley tallied eight kills and Stephanie Dietrich recorded five kills and added three blocks. Emmert also chipped in two blocks for the Huskies.

"Lauren and Mariah were great at the net for us and did a nice job scoring throughout," said Jennings. "But kind of like last night, we had a difficult time controlling the ball and again put too much pressure on our outsides to score. Plus, Findlay did a number on our block, which makes it hard to defend in the backcourt."

Laura DeMarchi set the Huskies offense, leading with 45 assists and added two blocks, two kills and six digs. DeMarchi finished third overall with 118 assists, averaging 11.80 assists per set at the crossover tournament.

Freshman, Anna Jonynas, was solid in the back row picking up 16 digs. Elle Heinonen tallied 16 digs and Halie Hart had 12 digs.

"We'll be ready to resume GLIAC play next weekend at home for sure," Jennings added. "I'm proud of the team and the fight we played with this weekend, but I think we're looking forward to the second half of conference play." 

Next up, the Huskies will host Davenport and Purdue Northwest over their Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 20-21) to advance in GLIAC play.