PREVIEW: Volleyball plays Ferris State in GLIAC Semis

GLIAC SEMIFINAL
• Michigan Tech plays Ferris State in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinal on Friday.
• The Bulldogs are the top seed and the host of the GLIAC Championship weekend.
• First serve is at 4 p.m. at Jim Wink Arena.
• Ferris won both games during the regular season
• No. 2 Northern Michigan and No. 6 Grand Valley State will meet in the other semifinal at 6:30 p.m.
• Winners of the semifinals will advance to the GLIAC Championship Saturday at 4 p.m.

GLIAC QUARTERFINAL SCORES
• Ferris State 3, Lake Superior State 0
• Northern Michigan 3, Saginaw Valley State 1
• Grand Valley State 3, Davenport 2
• Michigan Tech 3, Wayne State 0

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.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Tech won the GLIAC Tournament Championship once in 1994.
• The Huskies have played in the GLIAC Championship Match six times (2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 1996, 1994).
• Tech has appeared in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals 11 times (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994).

FINAL GLIAC STANDINGS
1. Ferris State (16-2)
2. Northern Michigan (14-4)
3. Davenport (13-5)
4. Wayne State (12-6)
5. Michigan Tech (11-7)
6. Grand Valley State (10-8)
7. Saginaw Valley State (5-13)
8. Lake Superior State (4-14)
9. Parkside (3-15)
10. Purdue Northwest (2-16)

WEDNESDAY WIN
• Michigan Tech advanced to its sixth straight GLIAC Tournament Semifinal after making quick work of Wayne State Wednesday at Matthaei Gym. The Huskies swept the Warriors 25-21, 25-19, and 25-19 to win their fourth straight.
• Meg Raabe tallied a match-high 13 kills while hitting .400 and added eight digs. Jillian Kuizenga finished with 10 kills, Makena Wesol had nine, and Janie Grindland and Kaycee Meiners combined for 10. Carissa Beyer led with 21 digs, and Lina Espejo-Ramirez set the attack with 34 assists.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Ferris State is 22-9 overall and went 16-2 in the GLIAC.
• The Bulldogs swept Lake Superior State in the GLIAC Quarterfinal to extend their winning streak to seven. They went 9-1 at home this season.
• Kaylee Maat leads the GLIAC in assists per set (10.8) and service aces per set (0.61). Leah Bylut is fourth in digs per set (4.3).
• Tia Brandel-Wilhelm is in her 27th year as head coach of the Bulldogs.

REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
• Sept. 16 in Houghton - Tech fell 3-0 to Ferris State at the SDC Gym. The Bulldogs won 25-14, 25-18, and 25-19. Olivia Heidel set the offense with 23 assists, and Carissa Beyer had 12 digs on defense. Janie Grindland led Tech with six kills while six other Huskies tallied at least three kills.
• Oct. 1 in Big Rapids - Tech fell 3-1 at Ferris State. The Huskies won set one 25-16 before the Bulldogs responded 25-13, 25-14, and 25-17. 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.

REGULAR SEASON FINALE
• The Huskies swept its final weekend of the regular season with a 3-0 win over Parkside Friday and a 3-0 sweep of Purdue Northwest Saturday.
• Meg Raabe (4.57 k/s) led the offense, while Lina Espejo-Ramirez (11.86 a/s) set the attack, and Carissa Beyer (3.86 d/s) led the defense.

GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Lina Espejo-Ramirez is second in assists per set (9.91).
• Carissa Beyer is third in digs per set (5.05).
• Grace Novotny is fifth in aces per set (0.4).
• Janie Grindland is eight in blocks per set (0.79)
• Jillian Kuizenga ranks 11th in kills per set (2.94).
• Morgan Radtke is 12th in hitting percentage (.261).

TEAM STATS RANKINGS
• Tech leads the GLIAC and is 30th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.156).
• The Huskies are third in the GLIAC in digs per set (16.76).
• Tech is fourth in the conference in assists per set (11.61) and kills per set (12.51).

1,000 DIGS
• Grace Novotny eclipsed 1,000 digs for her career on August 27 against Cal State Monterey Bay.
• She currently stands at 1,191 digs to rank ninth in program history.
• Novotny ranks 10th amongst active NCAA Division II players with 479 sets played and 12th with 135 matches played.

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• August 30 – Setter of the Week – Lina Espejo-Ramirez 
• October 11 – Defensive Player of the Week – Carissa Beyer
• October 18 – Defensive Player of the Week – Carissa Beyer

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
• Jillian Kuizenga – Otter Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Lina Espejo-Ramirez – Otter Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Carissa Beyer – Otter Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Jillian Kuizenga – Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Janie Grindland – Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Carissa Beyer – Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 10th season and has won 191 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.

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.

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
• The GLIAC Semifinal is Friday, November 11 followed by the GLIAC Championship on November 12.
• The NCAA Regionals are November 17-19.
• The NCAA Elite Eight and Championship are December 1-3 at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.