PREVIEW: Volleyball travels to Parkside and Purdue Northwest

THIS WEEK'S MATCHES
• No. 20 Michigan Tech hits the road for a pair of matches against GLIAC South Division opponents this weekend.
• The Huskies play at Parkside on Friday at 8 p.m. (Eastern) at Alfred and Bernice De Simone Gymnasium.
• The weekend wraps up at Purdue Northwest Saturday at 3 p.m. (Eastern). The Huskies and Pride will meet on John Friend Court located in the Fitness and Recreation Center on the Hammond Campus.
• The Huskies are 15-4 overall and sit atop the GLIAC standings with a 7-1 conference mark.
• Tech is riding a 10-game winning streak.

ALL-TIME KILLS LEADER
• Olivia Ghormley became Michigan Tech's all-time leader in kills on Friday when she notched her 1,547th kill in the third set against Lewis.
• Ghormley enters this weekend with 1,565 kills and leads all active NCAA Division II players.
• Ghormley currently ranks sixth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.24). She is eighth amongst active NCAA Division II players in career kills per set (3.72) which ranks third in program history.

GLIAC NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior Olivia Ghormley is the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for the 10th time in her career.
• Ghormley led Michigan Tech a 3-0 record at the Midwest Region Crossover.
• Ghormley averaged 3.5 kills per set, tallying 15 kills in a sweep of No. 16 Lewis on Friday and then followed it up with 10 kills in an upset sweep of No. 17 Hillsdale on Saturday.

AVCA POLL
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 20 in this week's AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, hopping up five spots from last week's No. 25 ranking.
• Tech has received votes in all eight AVCA Top 25 polls.
• The last time Tech was ranked as high as No. 20 was November 4, 2019.
• The Huskies were ranked in eight AVCA Top 25 polls during the spring season and finished at No. 24.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Parkside is 7-12 overall and 3-4 in the GLIAC. The three GLIAC wins are over Purdue Northwest, Lake Superior State, and Northwood. The Rangers were picked fourth in the South Division in the preseason poll after going 7-12 during the spring. Tech advanced to the GLIAC Semifinal with a 3-1 in over Parkside in their only meeting in the spring.
• Purdue Northwest is 2-17 overall and 0-8 in the GLIAC. The two wins are over Lake Erie in sweeps. Tech also swept Lake Erie. The Pride was picked fifth in the preseason poll in the South. The Pride went 0-14 in the spring. Tech swept PNW during the 2019 season and had both matches canceled last season.

LAST WEEKEND
• Tech went 3-0 last weekend at Midwest Region Crossover to extend its winning streak to 10 games.
• The Huskies swept No. 16 Lewis and took down Missouri S&T 3-2 on Friday. Tech wrapped up the weekend with a sweep of No. 17 Hillsdale on Saturday.
• Anna Jonynas (3.64 k/s) and Ghormley 3.5 k/s) led the offense on the weekend. Laura De Marchi set the attack (11 a/s) while Carissa Beyer (5.17 d/s) and Morgan Radtke (1.33 b/s) anchored the defense.

CROSSOVER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Carissa Beyer was named to the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team after averaging 5.17 digs per set on the weekend.
• She tallied 15 digs against Lewis, 25 digs versus Missouri S&T, and 17 against Hillsdale.
• Beyer ranks fourth in the GLIAC in digs per set at 4.28.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Laura De Marchi is second in NCAA Division II in assists per set (11.73).
• Olivia Ghormley leads active NCAA Division 2 players in career kills (1,565).
• De Marchi is second across all NCAA divisions in career assists per set (11.83)
• Tech leads the GLIAC and is sixth in the nation in kills per set (14.64).
• The Huskies are second in the GLIAC in hitting percentage (.245).
• Tech is third in the GLIAC in digs per set (16.84).
• Anna Jonynas is second in the GLIAC and 15th nationally in kills per set (4.07).
• Carissa Beyer is fourth in the GLIAC in digs per set (4.28).
• Olivia Ghormley is fifth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.24).
• Anna Jonynas is sixth in the GLIAC with 24 service aces.

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Anna Jonynas – Sept. 13
• Anna Jonynas – Sept. 27
• Anna Jonynas – Oct. 4
• Olivia Ghormley – Oct. 18

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
• In the 2021 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Huskies led the North with 51 points and four first-place votes. Northern Michigan was one point back while also taking a pair of first-place votes. Northwood (34), Wayne State (28), Saginaw Valley State (22), and Lake Superior State (10) rounded out the North in spots three through six.
• Grand Valley State was the top choice in the South Division with 44 points and four first-place votes. Ferris State garnered 39 points and one vote. Davenport (31) was third followed by Parkside (19) and Purdue Northwest (12).

MILESTONE MARKS
• Laura De Marchi – 5,005 assists (1st in program history)
• Olivia Ghormley – 1,565 kills (1st in program history)
• Megan Utlak – 1,765 digs (2nd in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 1,556 digs (4th in program history)
• Laura De Marchi – 1,250 digs (8th in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 1,066 kills (8th in program history)

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 10th season and has won 161 matches overall.
• Under Jennings, the Huskies have gone from last place in the conference to nationally ranked and consistently in the NCAA Tournament.
• Jennings has coached the Huskies to three straight NCAA tournament appearances and the program's first NCAA win since 1995.
• 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.

LAST SEASON
• Tech went 11-4 overall last season and held a 9-3 GLIAC mark to capture the program's second GLIAC North Division title.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
• Laura De Marchi was named an Academic All-American in 2020-21 to become the fourth Michigan Tech volleyball to earn the award.
• She led NCAA Division II setters with 12.72 assists per set in the spring.
• De Marchi set the school record for career assists on April 2 and also holds the school records for career assists per set (11.8) and season assists per set (12.72).
• De Marchi also reached 1,000 career digs in 2021.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNEES
• Laura De Marchi – GLIAC Player of the Year, 4-time GLIAC Setter of the Year, 4-time All-GLIAC First Team & GLIAC Freshman of the Year
• Olivia Ghormley – 3-time GLIAC Attacker of the Year & 3-time All-GLIAC First Team
• Anna Jonynas – All-GLIAC First Team
• Megan Utlak – All-GLIAC Second Team & 2-time All-GLIAC Honorable Mention
• Janie Grindland – All-GLIAC Second Team
• Jillian Kuizenga – All-GLIAC Honorable Mention

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• The seven-match road trip continues Tuesday at Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 26). The Huskies and Bulldogs met in the season opener at the SDC Gym in the Keweenaw Classic. Tech won 3-0.
• The month and road trip wraps up at Northern Michigan (Oct. 30).
Tech hosts Northwood (Nov. 5) and Lake Superior State (Nov. 6) for the final home weekend of the regular season.
• The season wraps up at Saginaw Valley State (Nov. 12) and Wayne State (Nov. 13).