Huskies sweep GVSU Friday to win sixth straight

ALLENDALE, Mich. – No. 20 Michigan Tech won its sixth straight match and picked up its third consecutive sweep Friday (Mar. 26) evening at Grand Valley State. The Huskies won 25-23, 25-20, and 25-21 to improve to 8-1.

"We really fought hard for that win," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "We came back from a few points down midway or late in each set, which is not an easy thing to do on the road against a team with that many weapons. I'm so proud of the way that we stayed together and held our ground."

After a 7-1 run by the Lakers, Tech scored five straight points late in the first set to take a setpoint lead at 24-21. The home team then got a kill and an attack error point before an attacking error on their own side of the net gave the Huskies the 25-23 win.

Tech dominated again late in set two, scoring eight of the last nine and the final six points to take a 2-0 lead heading into the break after the 25-20 win. There were 10 ties in the second with Morgan Radtke tallying four kills in the frame.

The script remained the same in the third. The team battled through nine ties before the Black and Gold took control again late with seven straight points to win 25-21 and earn the sweep. Olivia Ghormley finished off the sweep with four kills in the final run and nine in the set.

The GLIAC North Division Player of the Week over the past two weeks Olivia Ghormley continued her dominance with a match-high 18 kills while hitting .305. Anna Jonynas had a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs.

Laura De Marchi set the attack with 45 assists while adding 12 digs. Jillian Kuizenga (8 kills), Morgan Radtke (7 kills), and Janie Grindland (5 kills) also contributed on the offensive side.

"Our offense was strong and came up with a bunch of big points against an especially big block," said Jennings. "It was our defense however that was the difference-maker. Megan led the way with an excellent showing in the backcourt. Our transition offense benefited from some really solid back-court defense." 

As a team, the Huskies dug up 84 balls with Megan Utlak anchoring the back row with 27 digs. Grace Novotny (15 digs) and Maggie Petersen (11 digs) were also in double digits defensively.

Jennings added, "That was a really important win. Now it's time to get after it again tomorrow."

Tech wraps up its four-match road trip Saturday (Mar. 27) against the Lakers. First serve is set for 4 p.m. at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.