Huskies sweep weekend with victory at Purdue Northwest

HAMMOND, Ind. – The No. 22-ranked Michigan Tech volleyball team swept Purdue Northwest Saturday (Oct. 26) to extend its winning streak to seven and its three-set win streak to three. The Huskies improved to 18-4 overall and 10-1 in the GLIAC.

"We're very happy to be headed back up north with these two important road wins," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "For the most part, we played very well. Today's win was a total team effort."

Tech won the opening set 25-15. Tied at seven, the Huskies went on a 4-0 run and then a 10-2 run to take control. Olivia Ghormley tallied six kills in the first set to set the tone for the Black and Gold.

The Huskies jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second and later went on a 7-0 run with serving by Megan Utlak. Anna Jonynas had four kills in the second as Tech won 25-12 to take the 2-0 lead.

Briana Sharkey set the attack in the late stages of the second and in the third, tallying 13 assists. Jonynas again got going with seven kills in the third. There were six ties and neither team led by more than four points.

Tied at 20, Emilia Widen and Courtney Kurkie both had solo blocks and then the Huskies forced another PNW attacking error. Jonynas had a kill to make it setpoint and then finished off the match with her match-high 12th kill on the day for the 25-22 win.

"Anna was really sharp offensively in this one and, once again, was excellent in the backcourt," added Jennings. "Megan put together two very strong performances this weekend, as did Rachel Ping."

Eight different Huskies tallied a kill on the afternoon with Ghormley (8), Rachel Ping (7), and MacAulay Petersen (6) also tallying more than five.

Laura De Marchi had 15 assists in the first two sets, and Utlak led the defense with 18 digs.

The Huskies wrap up their six-match road trip at Northern Michigan on November 2.

"Now it's time to gear up for a big road match at Northern," said Jennings. "It's never an easy place to play, but we're always pumped to play our rivals. It ought to be a lot of fun."

Tech swept the Wildcats in their first meeting on September 24 at the SDC Gym.