Huskies sweep Ferris State Sunday to wrap up busy weekend
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ferris State (5-4) | 20 | 22 | 17 | 0 |
|
Michigan Tech (7-4) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team swept Ferris State 3-0 Sunday (Sept. 19) at the SDC Gym to wrap up the first weekend of GLIAC play. The Huskies won 25-20, 25-22, and 25-17 to defeat the Bulldogs for the fourth straight time and improve to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC.
"I'm very happy with the match," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "Ferris State is well-coached and a good team year in and year out. They have a lot of weapons and we were able to minimize those weapons and execute our game plan."
The teams fought through 16 ties in the first set. Tied at 19, the Huskies scored six of the final seven points to win 25-20 and take the lead. Anna Jonynas had four kills in the first set and the Huskies forced the Bulldogs into six attacking errors and three reception errors.
Ferris State (5-4, 0-2 GLIAC) took a 5-0 lead in the second set before an 8-1 run by the Huskies. The teams battled to a 21-all tie and Tech again closed strong with a 4-1 run to win 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead. Morgan Radtke had five kills in the set and Jonynas had the clincher.
The Huskies used an 11-1 run in the middle of the third to build a cushion and sweep the Bulldogs 25-17. Jonynas had four kills in the final frame and Megan Utlak dug up seven balls.
Jonynas finished with a match-high 12 kills. Radtke (8), Jillian Kuizenga (7), Olivia Ghormley (6), and Kaycee Meiners (3) also contributed to a balanced offensive attack. Laura De Marchi had 30 assists and nine digs. Utlak led the Huskies with 16 digs.
"It's always a fun matchup against Ferris State," Utlak said. "I've been here for five years and for the first three we were getting our butts kicked by them. It's been fun to see how we've turned the program around and for us to be able to beat them is a big accomplishment."
Katie O'Connell and Kira Merkle led the Bulldogs with nine kills. Kaylee Maat set the attack with 29 assists, and Nina Gorgijevska tallied a match-high 20 digs.
"We've been working really hard and I'm really proud of this team," Jennings added. "We have some aches and pains, and we've been playing really good teams to begin the season. I think we can carry this momentum from finishing strong this weekend into the rest of the season."
Tech hits the road next week for GLIAC matches at Lake Superior State on Friday and Northwood Saturday.
