Huskies fall in four at Ferris State

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team fell 3-1 Saturday at Ferris State. The Huskies won set one 25-16 before the Bulldogs responded 25-13, 25-14, and 25-17.

"Credit to a very good Ferris team for playing a nice match," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "They have a lot of weapons and when they get going, they can be tough to stop."

The Huskies built a 10-5 lead early in the first. Ferris closed it to 16-13 before Tech scored 10 of the next 13 to take the lead. Morgan Radtke pounded down six kills in the first.

"I was impressed by the way we came out and started the match," added Jennings. "We played aggressive, passed and controlled the ball well, and took advantage of the mistakes they made. I certainly would have liked a better response from our side once Ferris cleaned up their game."

Ferris (10-7, 7-2 GLIAC) never trailed in the second and ended the set on an 8-1 run to tie the match, heading to the break. Makena Wesol tallied four kills in the second for the Huskies.

The Bulldogs built a six-point lead in the third and never looked back. The home team hit over .300 for the second straight set and scored 18 of their 25 points on kills.

There were four early ties in the fourth. The home team held a four-point lead at 18-14 and then closed out the match with a 7-4 run.

"I expect our team to play with more urgency than we did in the final three sets," Jennings said. "We'll get there. I have faith in this group. We'll regroup and be ready for Saginaw on Friday."

Makena Wesol led the offense with 10 kills while Morgan Radtke and Jillian Kuizenga each added eight. Lina Espejo-Ramirez set the attack with 34 assists and added 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Carissa Beyer dug up 18 attacks and Grace Novotny and Meg Raabe added 11 digs each.

Tech is now 10-6 overall and 4-6 in the GLIAC. The Huskies return to the SDC Gym next weekend, hosting Saginaw Valley State Friday and Wayne State Saturday.