PREVIEW: Huskies host NMU to open postseason

LET THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN
• Michigan Tech hosts Northern Michigan Wednesday in a GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup.
• First serve between the Huskies and Wildcats is at 6 p.m. at the SDC Gym.
• The Huskies are the No. 4 seed and the Wildcats are the No. 5 seed.
• Tech is 14-15 overall and finished 10-8 in the GLIAC.

TICKETS
• Tickets for the quarterfinal match are now on sale at the SDC Central Ticket Office.
• Michigan Tech students can gain entrance for free with their student ID.
• Adult tickets are $14 and youth tickets are $8.

GLIAC TOURNAMENT
• No. 1 Grand Valley hosts No. 8 Lake Superior State.
• No. 2 Ferris State hosts No. 7 Purdue Northwest.
• No. 3 Parkside hosts No. 6 Davenport.
• The GLIAC Semifinals will be at the highest remaining seed on Saturday (Nov. 18).
• The GLIAC Tournament Championship is Sunday (Nov. 19).

ON THE RADIO
• J&J Broadcasting airs select volleyball matches and will carry Wednesday's game against the Wildcats on Mix 93.5 WKMJ.
• Mitch Lake will call all the action from the SDC Gym.
• Listen on 93.5 FM or online at Pasty.net or on the TuneIn app.

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.
• FloSports provides each subscriber with access to all content and events with the purchase of a monthly or yearly subscription.
• Subscriptions are offered in two different billing packages - monthly and annual.
• Discounts are available for students enrolled at GLIAC member and associate member institutions. You must subscribe with a .edu email address to be eligible.
• FloSports is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

1K ASSISTS
• Tess Hayes had 50 assists in both matches last weekend and eclipsed 1,000 assists for her freshman season.
• She has hit 50 assists seven times this season and has started every match for the Huskies.
• Hayes leads the GLIAC in assists per set (10.15) in conference matches.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• NMU is 12-17 overall and finished 9-9 in the GLIAC. The Wildcats won both matches over the Huskies in the regular season and are 3-7 in road matches.
• Jacqueline Smith leads the GLIAC in points per set (4.37) and in kills per set (3.78). Meghan Meyer is third in the conference in hitting percentage (.352).
• The teams last met in the postseason at the spring 2021 GLIAC Tournament Championship at Saginaw Valley State. The Wildcats won 3-0.
• Meghan Meyer, Jacqueline Smith, and Lauren Van Remortel are returning All-GLIAC selections from last season.

FIRST MEETING
• Tech fell 3-0 to Northern Michigan on September 26 at the SDC Gym.
• The first two sets went to extra points and the Wildcats came out on top 27-25, 26-24, and 25-19.
• Meg Raabe led the Huskies with 13 kills and Lindy Oujiri finished with 11. Tess Hayes led in assists (27) and digs (14). Alayna Corwin tallied 13 digs.

SECOND MEETING
• NMU took the final three sets to win 3-2 in Marquette on October 31.
• The Huskies won the first two sets at Vandament Arena 25-18 and 25-12 before the Wildcats stormed back 25-21, 25-23, and 15-4.
• Meg Raabe led the Huskies with 12 kills and Jacqueline Yancy finished with a season-high 11. Lindy Oujiri tallied nine kills while hitting .562 in the first set and a half. Kaycee Meiners added eight kills, three solo blocks, and six block assists. Amelia Albers tied a season-high with 22 digs. Tess Hayes tallied 44 assists and 14 digs. Brynn Erickson (12) and Alayna Corwin (11) also had double-digit digs.

LAST WEEKEND
• Tech volleyball wrapped up its regular season with a split on the road. The Huskies upset No. 20 Ferris State 3-2 Friday and fell 3-2 at Lake Superior State Saturday. Meg Raabe led the offense (4.1 k/s), Tess Hayes set the attack (10.1 a/s), and Amelia Albers (3.5 d/s) anchored the defense.
• The win at Ferris State was the first for the Huskies since November 2009. It was the first GLIAC loss of the season for the Bulldogs.

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

GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING
• Kaycee Meiners – 1st in blocks per set (1.42)
• Tess Hayes – 1st in assists per set (10.15)
• Kaycee Meiners – 2nd in hitting percentage (.334)
• Meg Raabe – 5th in kills per set (3.77)
• Lindy Oujiri – 8th in kills per set (3.43)
• Amelia Albers – 10th in digs per set (3.42)
• Rachel Zurek – 13th in blocks per set (.83)

GLIAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Nov. 6 – Meg Raabe – GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 9 – Lindy Oujiri – GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 9 – Tess Hayes – GLIAC Setter of the Week

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 11th season with the Huskies and has won 205 matches overall.
• He won his 200th game on October 14 against Findlay and ranks second in the program history in career wins behind Mary Kaminski (258).
• Jennings is on the NCAA Women's Volleyball National Committee and represents the Midwest Region.
• Under Jennings, the Huskies have gone from last place in the conference to nationally ranked and consistently in the NCAA Tournament.
• Jennings 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.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Lindy Oujiri was named to the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team. She helped lead the Huskies to a 2-1 record at the Crossover, leading the offense with 43 kills, averaging 4.3 per set while hitting .298.
• Kaycee Meiners was named to the UP Open All-Tournament Team after averaging 2.29 kills per set while hitting .410 and tallying nine blocks.
• Lindy Oujiri was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team after leading the Huskies with 3.62 kills per set while adding eight blocks.

GLIAC PRESEASON POLL
1.   Ferris State - 79 (7)
2.   Grand Valley State - 70 (1)
3.   Northern Michigan - 67 (2)
4.   Michigan Tech - 53
5.   Wayne State - 51
6.   Davenport - 44
7.   Saginaw Valley State - 34
8.   Lake Superior State - 24
9.   Parkside - 18
10. Purdue Northwest – 10

NEW ASSISTANT
• Mallory Nickelson was named an Assistant Coach with Michigan Tech volleyball in February.
• Nickelson was a four-year starting libero and setter at future GLIAC member Roosevelt University and was recently an assistant coach for two seasons at UW-Stevens Point.

CAPTAINS
Senior outside hitter Lindy Oujiri, redshirt junior middle blocker Kaycee Meiners, and sophomore defensive specialist Alayna Corwin are team captains for 2023.

LAST SEASON
• Tech finished the 2022 season 20-10 overall record, winning 20 matches for the fifth consecutive season.
• The Huskies went 11-7 in GLIAC play and advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Semifinal for the sixth straight season.