Huskies sweep SVSU on Senior Day at SDC Gym
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michigan Tech (13-14,9-7 GLIAC) | 25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
|
Saginaw Valley State (4-23,1-15 GLIAC) | 14 | 23 | 24 | 0 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team swept Saginaw Valley State 3-0 on Saturday (Nov. 4) at the SDC Gym on Senior Day. The Huskies won 25-14, 25-23, and 26-24 to improve to 13-14 overall and 9-7 in the GLIAC—good for fourth place in the standings.
"I'm thrilled we won, and glad we did it in three," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "It was important to honor our seniors the right way, and I think we did just that."
Seniors Lindy Oujiri, Zoe Rhines, Lauren Richards, Leiya Rybicki, and Kate Walch were honored after the match in their last regular season home appearance.
The Huskies dominated the opening set and never trailed, jumping out to a 16-2 lead and never looking back. Meg Raabe carried her momentum from Friday's match and put down nine kills in the first while hitting .500.
There were seven ties and three lead changes in the second set. SVSU led 21-20 before the Huskies closed on a 5-2 run to go up 2-0 at the break. Raabe had the final two kills as part of a six-kill set, while four other Huskies also had at least two kills.
SVSU led by as many as four early in the third but couldn't separate any further. The Huskies tied it at 21 and earned the sweep after kills by Kaycee Meiners and a pair of errors on the visitors. Knotted at 23 Rachel Zurek made it setpoint and Meg Raabe finished it off with the match winner—her sixth of the third set.
Meg Raabe had a match-high 18 kills while hitting .375. She finished the weekend with 50 kills and averaged 6.25 kills per set while hitting .342. The sophomore also added five digs, a pair of solo blocks, and a block assist on Saturday.
"I think our whole team rose to the occasion and stepped up for each other," Raabe said. "I think I had a good weekend because the things we've been working on have been going so well. Our backcourt got more consistent, our defense was great, and our middles held the block, so I had a lot of seams to work with."
Tess Hayes set the offense with 34 assists while Kaycee Meiners added eight kills and five blocks. Rachel Zurek tallied five kills.
The three available seniors contributed to the win. Leiya Rybicki and Lauren Richards received the start. Rybicki finished with eight digs, Richards had a kill and an ace, and Zoe Rhines added a dig.
"Seeing Lauren start the match was a highlight for me today," added Jennings. "She's a good volleyball player and an even better human. Leiya played the whole match today and got the job done. Zoe had her moments, and her narrative is a special one."
Tech wraps up the regular season on the road next weekend at Ferris State on Friday and Lake Superior State on Saturday.
