PREVIEW: Volleyball travels to NMU Tuesday

TUESDAY MATCH
• Michigan Tech travels to Northern Michigan Tuesday for the first GLIAC road match of the season.
• First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Vandament Arena.
• Tech is 7-4 and 1-3 in the GLIAC
• The two teams will meet on October 25 in Houghton.

ON TV
• Tuesday's match will be aired locally on FOX-UP. If the match extends past 8 p.m. the match will change channels to Grit TV
• TV6 and Fox-UP began broadcasting the Tech versus NMU rivalry during the 2013-14 season.

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.
• Cost of a GLIAC FloSports subscription is $19.99 for the month or $149.99 for the year. Discounts are available for subscribers with a .edu email address.
• FloSports is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• The Wildcats are 10-2 on the season and 3-1 in GLIAC play. Conference wins are over Grand Valley State, Davenport, and Lake Superior State.
• NMU was picked sixth in the GLIAC Preseason Poll and received one first-place vote.
• Jacqueline Smith leads the GLIAC in kills per set (4.38) and Meghan Meyer leads the conference in hitting percentage (.492).
• Tech won in straight sets over NMU in both meetings last season.

LAST WEEKEND
• The Huskies wrapped up a four-match home stand with a weekend split. Ferris State on 3-0 Friday and Tech bounced back with a sweep of Lake Superior State Saturday for the 23rd straight win over the Lakers.
• Jillian Kuizenga (4.0 k/s) led the offense, Olivia Heidel (10.3 a/s) set the attack, and Carissa Beyer (4.5 d/s) led the defense.

GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Janie Grindland is third in hitting percentage (.331).
• Lina Espejo-Ramirez is third in assists per set (9.3).
• Jillian Kuizenga ranks sixth in kills per set (3.14).
• Morgan Radtke is sixth in blocks per set (0.91).
• Carissa Beyer is seventh in digs per set (3.81).
• Grace Novotny is eighth in aces per set (0.44).

1,000 DIGS
• Grace Novotny eclipsed 1,000 digs for her career on Aug. 27 against Cal State Monterey Bay.
• She currently stands at 1,048 digs.

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• August 30 - Setter of the Week - Lina Espejo-Ramirez 

HAMPTON INN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Jillian Kuizenga and Janie Grindland were named to the Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Kuizenga led Tech's offense at the tournament, averaging 3.2 kills per set while hitting .301. She added 10 blocks and nine digs. Grindland hit .470 and averaged 2 kills per set, 1.3 blocks per set, and 1.1 digs per set.

OTTER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Outside hitter Jillian Kuizenga was named the MVP of Cal State Monterey Bay's Otter Invitational and was on the all-tournament team after she averaged 3.25 kills per set on the weekend while hitting .265.
• Setter Lina Espejo-Ramirez and libero Carissa Beyer were also named to the all-tournament team. Espejo-Ramirez averaged 9.58 assists per set and 2.92 digs per set. Beyer led the Huskies' defense with 3.8 digs per set.

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
• In the 2022 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Huskies were picked second in the GLIAC behind Grand Valley State.
• The Lakers had 68 points and the Huskies received 66 points. Wayne State was third with 64 points and Ferris State (62) rounded out the top four. Davenport (55), Northern Michigan (48), Saginaw Valley State, and Parkside (26) were also in the top eight. Lake Superior State and Purdue Northwester were ninth and tenth.

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 10th season and has won 178 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 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.

COACHING PROMOTIONS
• Cindy Pindral was promoted to Assistant Head Coach in the offseason.
• Head Coach Matt Jennings was added to the NCAA Women's Volleyball National Committee and will represent the Midwest Region until September 2026.

LAST SEASON
• Tech finished the 2021 fall season with a 25-7 overall record and ranked No. 22 in the final AVCA Top 25 poll.
• The Huskies won the GLIAC Regular Season Championship for the second straight season and the third time in program history with a 14-1 conference record.
• The Black and Gold went to its fourth straight NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Midwest Regional Semifinal for the fifth time in school history.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNEES
• Carissa Beyer – Fall 2021 All-GLIAC Second Team
• Janie Grindland – Spring 2021 All-GLIAC Second Team
• Jillian Kuizenga – Two-time All-GLIAC Honorable Mention

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• Tech wraps up the week on the road at Purdue Northwest Friday and Parkside Saturday.
• The month wraps up at Lake Superior State (Sept. 30) and the five-match road trip ends at Ferris State (Oct. 30).