PREVIEW: Huskies travel to Grand Valley for GLIAC Semis

GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
• Michigan Tech is in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals for the seventh straight season.
• The Huskies are the No. 4 seed and play at No. 1 seed Grand Valley State which is ranked No. 25 in the nation.
• Opening serve in the first semifinal between the Huskies and Lakers is at 2 p.m. at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
• No. 2 seed and nationally No. 22 Ferris State plays No. 3 Parkside in the second semifinal at 4:30 p.m.
• Tech is 15-15 overall and finished 10-8 in the GLIAC.

GLIAC TOURNAMENT
• Tech advanced out of the quarterfinal with a 3-0 sweep of Northern Michigan.
• GVSU swept Lake Superior State, FSU swept Purdue Northwest, and UWP swept Davenport.
• The GLIAC Tournament Championship is Sunday (Nov. 19) at 2 p.m.

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 a .edu email address to be eligible.
• FloSports is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

ALL-GLIAC SELECTIONS
• GLIAC Freshman of the Year - Tess Hayes, Fr, Setter
• All-GLIAC First Team - Kaycee Meiners, Rjr, Middle Blocker
• All-GLIAC First Team - Lindy Oujiri, Sr, Outside Hitter
• All-GLIAC Second Team - Meg Raabe, So, Outside Hitter
• All-GLIAC Second Team - Tess Hayes, Fr, Setter
• All-GLIAC Honorable Mention - Rachel Zurek, Fr, Middle Blocker

WEDNESDAY WIN
• Tech advanced to the GLIAC Semifinals after a 3-0 sweep of Northern Michigan Wednesday at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won 25-22, 25-14, and 25-15 to beat the Wildcats for the first time this season.
• Tech has now beaten every team in the GLIAC at least once this season.
• Meg Raabe had a match-high 20 kills while hitting .543. She has racked up 20 kills in three of her last five matches. Lindy Oujiri was the only other player with double-digit kills with 10. Kaycee Meiners and Rachel Zurek combined for 13 kills. Tess Hayes set the offense with 35 assists and added 10 digs. Amelia Albers tallied a match-high 12 digs.

1K ASSISTS
• Tess Hayes had 50 assists in both matches last weekend and eclipsed 1,000 assists for her freshman season.
• She has hit 50 assists seven times this season and has started every match for the Huskies.
• Hayes leads the GLIAC in assists per set (10.15) in conference matches.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
• No. 25 GVSU is 25-3 overall and won the GLIAC Regular Season Title with a 16-2 record. The three losses this season have been to Michigan Tech, Lewis, and Ferris State.
• The Lakers are sixth in the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.116) and 10th in hitting percentage (.270). They also lead the GLIAC in assists per set, blocks per set, and kills per set.
• Sarah Wight leads the GLIAC in hitting percentage (.402), is second in blocks per set (1.07), and fifth in aces per set (.4).
• GV went 19-13 last season with a 10-8 GLIAC record. As the No. 6 seed in the GLIAC Tournament, they advanced to the title match.

FIRST MEETING
• Tech opened the GLIAC schedule with a 3-0 sweep of Grand Valley State on Sept. 15 at the SDC Gym. The Huskies handed the Lakers their first loss of the season 25-21, 25-19, and 25-18.
• Kaycee Meiners led a balanced offensive attack with 12 kills while hitting .611 with four blocks. Rachel Zurek added six kills and five blocks, and Kate Loch also put down seven kills. Tricia Kennedy and Lindy Oujiri combed for 10 kills. Tess Hayes set the offense with 30 assists. Brooke Dzwik tallied a match-high 13 digs.

SECOND MEETING
• Tech team fell 3-1 at Grand Valley State on Oct. 28. The Lakers won 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, and 25-20.
• Lindy Oujiri led the Huskies with 15 kills and hit .342. Kaycee Meiners finished with 11 kills and four block assists while hitting .474. Rachel Zurek (9 kills) and Meg Raabe (7 kills) were also key on the offense while Tess Hayes set the attack with 39 assists. Amelia Albers was in double figures for the ninth straight match with 17 digs. Alayna Corwin added 11 digs.

LAST WEEKEND
• Tech volleyball wrapped up its regular season with a split on the road. The Huskies upset No. 20 Ferris State 3-2 Friday and fell 3-2 at Lake Superior State Saturday. Meg Raabe led the offense (4.1 k/s), Tess Hayes set the attack (10.1 a/s), and Amelia Albers (3.5 d/s) anchored the defense.
• The win at Ferris State was the first for the Huskies since November 2009. It was the first GLIAC loss of the season for the Bulldogs.

FINAL GLIAC STANDINGS
1. Grand Valley State, 16-2
2. Ferris State, 15-3
3. Parkside, 12-6
4. Michigan Tech, 10-8
5. Northern Michigan, 9-9
6. Davenport, 8-10
7. Purdue Northwest, 8-10
8. Lake Superior State, 5-13
9. Wayne State, 5-13
10. Saginaw Valley State, 2-16

GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING
• Kaycee Meiners – 1st in blocks per set (1.42)
• Tess Hayes – 1st in assists per set (10.15)
• Kaycee Meiners – 2nd in hitting percentage (.334)
• Meg Raabe – 5th in kills per set (3.77)
• Lindy Oujiri – 8th in kills per set (3.43)
• Amelia Albers – 10th in digs per set (3.42)
• Rachel Zurek – 13th in blocks per set (.83)

GLIAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Nov. 6 – Meg Raabe – GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 9 – Lindy Oujiri – GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 9 – Tess Hayes – GLIAC Setter of the Week

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 11th season with the Huskies and has won 206 matches overall.
• He won his 200th game on October 14 against Findlay and ranks second in program history in career wins behind Mary Kaminski (258).
• 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.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Lindy Oujiri was named to the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team. She helped lead the Huskies to a 2-1 record at the Crossover, leading the offense with 43 kills, averaging 4.3 per set while hitting .298.
• Kaycee Meiners was named to the UP Open All-Tournament Team after averaging 2.29 kills per set while hitting .410 and tallying nine blocks.
• Lindy Oujiri was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team after leading the Huskies with 3.62 kills per set while adding eight blocks.

GLIAC PRESEASON POLL
1.   Ferris State - 79 (7)
2.   Grand Valley State - 70 (1)
3.   Northern Michigan - 67 (2)
4.   Michigan Tech - 53
5.   Wayne State - 51
6.   Davenport - 44
7.   Saginaw Valley State - 34
8.   Lake Superior State - 24
9.   Parkside - 18
10. Purdue Northwest – 10

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.

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.