Huskies Add Two for 2019 Season with Radtke and Kuizenga

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Head coach Matt Jennings and the Michigan Tech volleyball program have announced the addition of two new players to the squad for the 2019 season. Jillian Kuizenga (St. Charles, Ill.) and Morgan Radtke (Elk Mound, Wis.) have both signed their National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Michigan Tech.

"We're very excited to have Jill and Morgan coming our way next fall," says Jennings. "Both are excellent students, talented athletes and high character people that will give us some overall depth and a physicality at the net."

Kuizenga joins the Black and Gold from Saint Charles North High School, where she was a two-time selection to the Under Armour Phenom List (2016 & 2017) and placed on the Under Armour All-American Watch List in 2018. As a 6'3" right-side hitter and member of Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Kuizenga was a two-time AAU National Champion in 2014 and 2016 while earning a spot on the USAV High Performance A2 Team in 2016. A native of Southern California, Kuizenga played for Club West Volleyball Club from 2011 to 2013 before moving to the Chicago area.

Kuizenga is an AP Scholar with Honors, a two year member of the National Science Honors Society, and an Academic All Conference selection.  She intends on studying biochemistry with a focus in chemistry at Michigan Tech.

"Jillian is a very skilled player who's well trained and has experience playing with and against some of the country's top teams ,"Jennings says. "She's a veryintelligent attacker and strong blocker and has the ability to score points on both sides of the ball. She's a very dedicated and hard worker and if she stays committed to improving and adapting her game, I believe she will be an important piece of our system during her time as a Husky."

A 6'2" middle blocker, Radtke was a unanimous Division 3 First Team All-State selection as a senior for Elk Mound High School. She's earned First Team All-Conference honors three times (2018, 2017, 2016), and has twice been named the Dunn St. Croix Conference Volleyball Player of the Year.  She earned Honorable Mention All-State and Second Team All-Conference honors as a freshman.  She finished the 2018 season with 494 kills (5.0 kills/set) with a hitting percentage of .325 while totaling 86 blocks (0.9 blocks/set).  She finished her prep career with over 1,000 total kills.

In addition to volleyball, Radtke has been a standout member of the Elk Mound basketball team. Going into her senior season, the two-time All-Conference honoree has scored 870 career points.  She played soccer as freshman and sophomore as well. In the classroom, Radtke is a 4.0 student and member of the National Honors Society. She played three years of club volleyball for Elk Mound Volleyball Club before switching to Matrix Volleyball Club, where she will be entering her fourth year with the program. 

"Morgan is an incredible athlete that has the potential to be one of the most physical players in the region." Jennings says of Radtke. "She has excellent presence at the net and is a proven point scorer with a very powerful swing and ability to find the open court.  She has been leader for her teams and seems to be as coachable as they come. Her Midwest work ethic, multi-sport background, and athletic IQ should serve her very well during her career here at Tech."

The Huskies concluded their 2018 campaign with their second straight 20-win season after going 23-7 and making an NCAA tournament appearance for the second year in row.  The 23 wins marks the most in 22 seasons and is tied for the 4th most victories in program history. A 14-2 conference finish earned Tech the #2 seed in the GLIAC Tournament. The Huskies spent 5 weeks in the AVCA Top 25 coaches poll. Sophomore outside hitter Olivia Ghormley earned AVCA All American Third Team honors and was named GLIAC Attacker of the Year. In addition, sophomore setter Laura DeMarchi, an Honorable Mention All-America selection, was named GLIAC Setter of the Year for the second straight season. Both were AVCA All-Region as well as D2CCA All-Region Second Team selections and, along with senior right-side hitter Mariah Sherman, were voted All-GLIAC First Team. The Huskies will look to continue their strong play in 2019 as they graduate only one player from the 2018 team.