PREVIEW: Volleyball begins season with four matches

WEEKEND MATCHES
• Michigan Tech begins the 2023 season this weekend with four matches.
• The Huskies host Winona State Thursday at the SDC Gym in the season and home opener. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
• Tech then travels down to Marquette for the UP Open at Northern Michigan.
• The Black and Gold will face No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday at 2 p.m. at Vandament Arena.
• The weekend wraps up Saturday against Minnesota Crookston at 11:30 a.m. and Hillsdale at 4:30 p.m.

ON THE RADIO
• J&J Broadcasting airs select volleyball matches and will carry Thursday's match against Winona State on Mix 93.5.
• Mitch Lake will call all the action from the SDC Gym.
• Listen on 93.5 FM or online at Pasty.net or on the TuneIn app.

WATCH THE HUSKIES
• All home and GLIAC matches, will be streamed on FloSports.
• Michigan Tech fans can watch all home and conference games in volleyball, basketball, football, soccer, and hockey with one subscription.
• FloSports provides each subscriber with access to all content and events with the purchase of a monthly or yearly subscription.
• Subscriptions are offered in two different billing packages - monthly and annual.
• Discounts are available for students enrolled at GLIAC member and associate member institutions. You must subscribe with .edu email address to be eligible.
• FloSports is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
• In the 2023 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Huskies were picked fourth in the GLIAC behind Ferris State, Grand Valley State, and Northern Michigan.
• The Bulldogs had 79 points, including seven first-place votes. The Lakers (70) and Wildcats (67) were also above the Huskies (53). Wayne State (51), Davenport (44), Saginaw Valley State (34), and Lake Superior State (24) round out the top eight. Parkside (18) and Purdue Northwest (10) were ninth and tenth.

NEW ASSISTANT
• Mallory Nickelson was named an Assistant Coach with Michigan Tech volleyball in February.
• Nickelson was a four-year starting libero and setter at future GLIAC member Roosevelt University and was recently an assistant coach for two seasons at UW-Stevens Point.

CAPTAINS
Senior outside hitter Lindy Oujiri, redshirt junior middle blocker Kaycee Meiners, and sophomore defensive specialist Alayna Corwin are team captains for 2023.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Winona State – The Warriors went 12-15 overall last season and 8-12 in the NSIC. WSU was picked ninth in the NSIC Preseason Poll. It will be the first-ever matchup between the Huskies and Warriors.
• Concordia-St. Paul – The Golden Bears are ranked No. 2 in the Preseason AVCA Poll after going 31-6 overall and 17-3 in the NSIC last season. CSP was the NCAA Tournament Runner-Up. Tech is 2-1 all-time against CSP and last played in 2021 at the SDC Gym.
• Minnesota Crookston – The Golden Eagles went 5-23 overall last season with a 4-16 NSIC record and were picked 14th in the preseason poll. The Huskies swept last season's match and are 5-1 all-time against UMC.
• Hillsdale – The Chargers went 28-7 overall and 16-2 in the GMAC last season, winning the GMAC North Division Title and GMAC Tournament Title. They were picked to win the GMAC North in the preseason poll and have gone to five straight NCAA Tournaments and have six straight 20-win seasons.

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 11th season with the Huskies and has won 191 matches overall.
• Jennings is on the NCAA Women's Volleyball National Committee and represents the Midwest Region.
• Under Jennings, the Huskies have gone from last place in the conference to nationally ranked and consistently in the NCAA Tournament.
• Jennings coached the Huskies to four straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2017-21.
• He was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2017 and led the team to a program record of 10 straight wins to start the 2016 season.
• The 2021 spring team won a GLIAC Regular Season title for the second time in program history with the 2021 team repeating the feat in outright fashion.

LAST SEASON
• Tech finished the 2022 season 20-10 overall record, winning 20 matches for the fifth consecutive season.
• The Huskies went 11-7 in GLIAC play and advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Semifinal for the sixth straight season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• The Huskies travel to Minnesota Duluth's UP North Tournament next weekend on September 7-9. Tech plays No. 8 UMD, No. 7 St. Cloud State, Southern New Hampshire, and Central Washington.
• The GLIAC schedule gets underway the following weekend when Grand Valley State (Sept. 15) and Davenport (Sept. 16) come to the SDC Gym.