Michigan Tech Eases Past Lake Superior State

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Michigan Tech cruised to a 3-0 victory (25-15, 25-13, 25-16) at Lake Superior State in GLIAC volleyball action Saturday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. The win gives the Huskies a record of 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

"Going into the first weekend of GLIAC play, it was important for us to pick up two wins over teams in our division," said head coach Matt Jennings. "Finishing without dropping a set on the road speaks to the focus with which we played this weekend, and I'm pleased with the way this team took care of business out there."

Michigan Tech put in a dominant performance on offense, scoring on 46 of 108 attempts with only 12 errors for a hitting percentage of .315. Tech also tallied 39 assists as a team and finished with five service aces.

"We did a good job serving tough and forcing Lake State out of their system, which allowed our transition offense to pick up a lot of points," Jennings continued. "We were strong in serve receive and kept them at a distance with our side-out offense."

Sophomore Olivia Ghormley was once again the leading scorer for both teams. The outside hitter finished the day with 14 kills on 27 attacks with only three errors for a hitting percentage of .407. Junior Rachel Ping also had a solid performance for MTU, scoring on six of her 12 attacks for a rating of .500. Senior Mariah Sherman added 10 kills and a .304 attack percentage. Sophomore Laura DeMarchi setup the offense with 25 assists.

The Husky defense was on point in today's match. Lake Superior State was forced into committing 17 errors against Tech's 12, and limited the Lakers into a paltry .019 attacking percentage. MTU also recorded 54 digs to LSSU's 36, with three Huskies finishing with double figures. Sophomore Anna Jonynas led the team with 16 digs, while sophomore Megan Utlak had 12 digs, and freshman Grace Novotny added 11.

Seven consecutive points in the first set helped the Huskies to an early lead over the Lakers (1-9, 0-2 GLIAC), as did an attack rating of .378 to Lake Superior State's .088 rating. Mariah Sherman scored on five attacking attempts to lead the Huskies in scoring for the set.

Tech opened the second set with five straight points, and was consistently strong throughout. Ghormley shined in the second set, where she finished with seven of her 14 kills on the day. Michigan Tech's defense forced Lake Superior State into its worst attacking percentage of the afternoon, with a -.061 on 33 attempts.

The Huskies finished the day on a high note with another strong start by wining seven out of the first eight points of the third set. Although LSSU clawed back with five out of the next six points, the Huskies didn't give up and eventually pulled away from the Lakers to take the set and the match.

Michigan Tech is back on the road on Tuesday (Sept. 11) when they travel to face No. 23 Northern Michigan (9-1, 1-1 GLIAC) at 7:00 p.m. The Wildcats were defeated 3-1 by Saginaw Valley State Saturday afternoon. MTU and NMU faced each other three times last season, with the Huskies winning two out of three matches. The teams split during the regular season, and Tech eliminated Northern Michigan in the semifinal of the GLIAC Tournament.