Huskies sweep Parkside Friday for sixth straight win

KENOSHA, Wis. – The No. 22-ranked Michigan Tech volleyball team got back into GLIAC play Friday (Oct. 25) with a 3-0 sweep at Parkside. The Huskies have now won six straight after their 11th sweep of the season.

"Tonight was a well-played match on both sides of the ball," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "We looked particularly sharp on defense and those extended rallies really allowed our offense to get going in transition. Megan was very strong tonight in the backcourt."

The Huskies never trailed in the match-winning 25-16, 25-17, and 25-14. The Black and Gold are now 17-4 overall and 9-1 in the GLIAC.

Tech hopped out to an 8-3 lead before the Rangers battled back to a 14-14 tie. From there, the Huskies scored 10 of the next 12 to gain a 1-0 advantage. MacAulay Petersen tallied seven of her match-high 14 kills in the opening set.

An early six-point lead for the Huskies set the tone for the second set. Laura De Marchi snuck in four kills in the second, and Rachel Ping put down the final point for the 25-17 win and 2-0 lead.

In the third, Tech scored five straight points to take a 16-7 lead. Ping and Petersen both had five kills, and Megan Utlak dug up 11 balls in the third set alone. Kills by Petersen and Olivia Ghormley sealed the win for the Huskies 25-14.

"Laura was a lot of fun to watch in this one," added Jennings. "She was aggressive at the net, served well, made good setting decisions and played tough defense.

"We started to pull away as our offense started connecting and that was in large part because of Mac's performance at the net. She found the court very well tonight."

Ping (8 kills), De Marchi (7 kills), and Ghormley (7 kills) helped out the balanced offensive attack. De Marchi added 30 assists and 16 digs for a complete night.

Utlak racked up a season-high 25 digs, hitting the 20-dig mark for the second match in a row and fifth time this season. Anna Jonynas was also in double digits for digs with 11.

"We're pleased with the win and are now focusing on picking up another tomorrow in Indiana," said Jennings.

Tech continues the road trip Saturday (Oct. 26) at Purdue Northwest. First serve is at 3 p.m. in Hammond, Indiana. The Pride fell 3-1 to Northern Michigan Friday.