PREVIEW: Volleyball heads to Crossover for three matches

WEEKEND MATCHES
• Michigan Tech travels to Hammond, Indiana for the 15th annual Midwest Regional Volleyball Crossover Tournament.
• The Huskies are the No. 3 seed from the GLIAC and open against Hillsdale at 3 p.m. Eastern on Friday.
• Tech plays again at 8 p.m. versus Maryville.
• Saturday's matchup will depend on Friday's results.
• The Huskies are 7-10 overall and 5-4 in the GLIAC.

CROSSOVER
• The 15th annual Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover Tournament, the nation's largest collegiate volleyball event at one venue, will be held in Hammond, Ind., at the Hammond SportsPlex on October 13-14, 2023.
• The regional volleyball event will feature 38 NCAA Division II Midwest Region programs in the Association's 50th year.
• The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) will both be represented by 14 teams, while the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association (GLIAC) will bring 10.

GLIAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Lindy Oujiri is the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week.
• The senior captain averaged 4.29 kills per set while hitting .306 and totaling three blocks.
• Oujiri ranks second in the GLIAC in total kills (214), is fourth in kills per set (3.45), and fifth in points per set (3.7).

GLIAC SETTER OF THE WEEK
• Tess Hayes is the GLIAC Setter of the Week
• She tallied 85 assists, averaging 12.14 per set, and added 20 digs, three blocks, and a pair of kills on the weekend.
• The Tech offense tallied 98 kills (14 k/s) and hit .275 in the pair of matches.
• Hayes ranks fourth in the GLIAC in assists per set (9.24) and 16th in digs per set (2.74).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Hillsdale – The Chargers are 14-3 overall this season and 8-1 in the GMAC. They were picked to win the GMAC North in the preseason poll and have gone to five straight NCAA Tournaments with six straight 20-win seasons. Tech fell 3-2 to Hillsdale in Marquette at the season-opening tournament.
• Maryville – The Saints are 12-5 overall and 4-2 in the GLVC. Maryville is fifth in the nation in digs per set (18.89). They were picked fifth in the GLVC Preseason Poll after going 17-12 last season. It will be the first meeting between the two teams.

GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING
• Tech leads the GLIAC in total blocks (140) and is second in blocks per set (2.26)
• Kaycee Meiners – 1st in total blocks (70)
• Kaycee Meiners – 1st in blocks per set (1.13)
• Lindy Oujiri – 2nd in total kills (214)
• Lindy Oujiri – 4th in kills per set (3.45)
• Tess Hayes – 4th in assists per set (9.24)
• Kaycee Meiners – 7th in hitting percentage (.306)

LAST TIME OUT
• Tech volleyball wrapped up its five-match home stand with a weekend sweep.
• The Huskies swept Purdue Northwest Friday and came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Parkside 3-1 Saturday.
• Lindy Oujiri (4.29 k/s) led the offense, Tess Hayes (12.14 a/s) set the attack, and Amelia Albers (4.71 d/s) anchored the defense.

COACH JENNINGS
• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 11th season with the Huskies and has won 198 matches overall.
• 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
• 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.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• Tech gets back to GLIAC action with a five-match road trip, beginning at Saginaw Valley State (Oct. 20) and Wayne State (Oct. 21). 
• The Huskies wrap up the trip at Davenport (Oct. 27), Grand Valley State (Oct. 28), and Northern Michigan (Oct. 31).