PREVIEW: Volleyball hosts GLIAC Semfinals

GLIAC FINAL FOUR
• No. 20 Michigan Tech hosts fifth-seeded Davenport in the GLIAC Semifinal.
• The Huskies and Panthers meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the SDC Gym.
• No. 2 Ferris State and No. 3 Wayne State meet at noon in the first semifinal.
• Tech is 23-5 overall and finished 14-1 in the GLIAC.
• The Huskies swept the Panthers in their only meeting of the regular season.
• The winners of the two semifinals will meet at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the GLIAC Championship.

GLIAC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
• Michigan Tech 3, Northwood 0
• Ferris State 3, Northern Michigan 0
• Wayne State 3, Saginaw Valley State 0
• Davenport 3, Grand Valley State 1

ON THE RADIO
• Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ broadcasts select volleyball matches.
• The Huskies will be on the radio for both the semifinal and championship match.

WATCH THE MATCHES
• Visit MichiganTechHuskies.com to watch both semifinals and the championship match for $10 each.

HEALTH & SAFETY LEVEL TWO
• Michigan Tech is currently at Health & Safety Level Two.
• Face coverings are recommended in the SDC regardless of vaccination status.
• Tech encourages all fans to please continue frequent handwashing (especially before and after meals), hand sanitization, and to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

WEDNESDAY'S WIN
• Tech advanced to the semifinal with a 3-0 sweep of Northwood Wednesday at the SDC Gym. The Huskies swept the Timberwolves for the third time this season 25-13, 25-13, and 25-21.
• Anna Jonynas finished with a match-high 14 kills. Janie Grindland added 10 kills, Morgan Radtke nine, Jillian Kuizenga eight, and Lindy Oujiri six. Laura De Marchi set the attack with 37 assists. Megan Utlak (14 digs), Grace Novotny (13 digs), and Lina Espejo-Ramirez (10 digs) led the defense.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Tech won the GLIAC Tournament Championship once in 1994.
• The Huskies have played in the GLIAC Championship Match five times (2020, 2019, 2017, 1996, 1994).
• Tech has appeared in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals 10 times (2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994).

GLIAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS
• Michigan Tech won the GLIAC Regular Season Championship for the third time in program history (1994, 2021 Spring, 2021).
• Tech won its first outright regular season championship.
• The Huskies won their first back-to-back regular season championship.
• Tech went 44-4 in sets during the GLIAC regular season and finished with the highest conference winning percentage in program history at 93 percent.

REGIONAL RANKING
• Michigan Tech is No. 1 in the final NCAA Midwest Regional Rankings.
• The top team in the region has the opportunity to host the NCAA Regional on December 2-4.
• Ferris State, Hillsdale, Lewis, Missouri-St. Louis, Grand Valley State, Wayne State, and Rockhurst round out the top eight in Midwest.
• The NCAA will announce its field on Monday (Nov. 22) at 7:30 p.m.

AVCA POLL
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 20 in this week's AVCA Division II Coaches Poll.
• Tech has received votes in all 12 AVCA Top 25 polls and were No. 25 on October 11, No. 20 on October 18 and 25, No. 22 on November 1, and No. 21 last week.
• The Huskies were ranked in eight AVCA Top 25 polls during the spring season and finished at No. 24.

CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
• Laura De Marchi has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Volleyball Team for the third straight season.
• De Marchi is a setter from Milan, Italy, and holds a 3.79 grade-point average in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering.
• De Marchi has led Michigan Tech to its second straight GLIAC Regular Season Championship this season, averaging 11.55 assists per set to lead the GLIAC and rank sixth in the nation. She has tallied 1,016 assists this season, 259 digs (2.94 d/s), 68 kills, 42 blocks, and 27 service aces for the top 20-ranked Huskies.

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Carissa Beyer is the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week.
• She tallied 37 digs last weekend in a pair of sweeps downstate. She averaged 6.2 digs per set, including tallying 21 digs in a three-set sweep at Wayne State.
• Beyer also tallied five service aces with no serving errors. She passed a 2.24 on 49 attempts (out of 108 total for the team).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Davenport is 16-11 overall and went 7-7 in the GLIAC. The Panthers advanced to the semifinal with a 3-1 upset at Grand Valley State.
• Davenport has GLIAC wins this season over Northern Michigan, Parkside (2), Purdue Northwest (2), Northwood, and Lake Superior State.
• Outside hitter Hayley Kreiger leads the GLIAC in kills per set at 4.35.

FIRST MEETING
• Sept 18 – Tech swept Davenport 3-0 at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won 25-8, 25-20, and 26-24. Tech hit .314 in the match and was led offensively by Lindy Oujiri with 13 kills. Anna Jonynas and Jillian Kuizenga combined for 18 kills. Laura De Marchi had 42 assists and Megan Utlak tallied 11 digs.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Laura De Marchi leads the GLIAC and is sixth in NCAA Division II in assists per set (11.52).
• Olivia Ghormley is fourth amongst active NCAA Division II players in career kills (1,620).
• De Marchi is fourth across all NCAA divisions in career assists per set (11.78)
• Tech leads the GLIAC and is eighth in the nation in kills per set (14.44).
• The Huskies lead the GLIAC in hitting percentage (.256).
• Tech is third in the GLIAC in digs per set (16.59).
• Anna Jonynas is second in the GLIAC and 15th nationally in kills per set (4.02).
• Carissa Beyer is third in the GLIAC in digs per set (4.21).
• Anna Jonynas is fourth in the GLIAC with 42 service aces.
• Olivia Ghormley is fifth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.24).

ALL-TIME KILLS LEADER
• Olivia Ghormley became Michigan Tech's all-time leader in kills on October 15 when she notched her 1,547th kill in the third set against Lewis.
• Ghormley enters this weekend with 1,620 kills and is fourth amongst active NCAA Division II players.
• Ghormley currently ranks fifth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.24). She is 10th amongst active NCAA Division II players in career kills per set (3.70) which ranks fourth in program history.

MILESTONE MARKS
• Laura De Marchi – 5,329 assists (1st in program history)
• Olivia Ghormley – 1,620 kills (1st in program history)
• Megan Utlak – 1,836 digs (2nd in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 1,650 digs (3rd in program history)
• Laura De Marchi – 1,324 digs (7th in program history)
• Anna Jonynas – 1,185 kills (7th in program history)

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Anna Jonynas – Sept. 13
• Anna Jonynas – Sept. 27
• Anna Jonynas – Oct. 4
• Olivia Ghormley – Oct. 18
• Carissa Beyer – Nov. 15

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 10th season and has won 169 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 with the 2021 team repeating the feat in outright fashion.

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.

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).

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 GLIAC championship is on November 21.
• The NCAA Midwest Regional Championship is December 2-4.
• The NCAA Championship is December 9-11 in Tampa, Florida.