PREVIEW: Huskies travel to NMU and host Roosevelt – Michigan Tech

WEEKEND MATCHES
• Michigan Tech has a pair of GLIAC matches to wrap up the first part of the schedule before Crossover.
• The Huskies travel to Northern Michigan on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. first serve at Vandament Arena.
• The weekend wraps up on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Roosevelt at the SDC Gym.
• The Huskies are 8-5 overall and 4-2 in the GLIAC.
 
ON TV
• Thursday’s match at NMU will be aired locally on FOX-UP.
• TV6 and FOX-UP began broadcasting the Tech versus NMU rivalry during the 2013-14 season.
• Dave Ellis and Mark Evans will call the action from Vandament Arena.

WATCH THE HUSKIES

• All home and GLIAC matches are streamed on FloSports.

• Michigan Tech fans can watch all home and conference games in volleyball, basketball, football, and soccer 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.

 

LAST TIME OUT

• Tech swept its home weekend to wrap up a four-match home stretch.

• The Huskies swept Lake Superior State on Friday 25-18, 25-17, and 25-20.

• Tech got by Saginaw Valley State 23-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-14, and 15-13 on Saturday.

• Meg Raabe led the offense (4.25 k/s), Tess Hayes set the attack (11.63 a/s) and also led the defense (3.88 d/s).

 

GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING

• Tess Hayes leads in assists per set (10.38)

• Tess Hayes leads in aces per set (0.54)

• Paige Wagner is second in hitting percentage (.406)

• Meg Raabe is seventh in kills per set (3.52)

• Kaycee Meiners is seventh in blocks per set (0.92)

• Amelia Albers is eighth in digs per set (3.21)

 

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Northern Michigan is 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the GLIAC.

• The lone conference loss was to Ferris State.

• NMU ranks third in the GLIAC in digs per set and aces per set.

• Jacqueline Smith is second in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.94) and was an All-GLIAC First Team selection last season. Allie Barlow is third in the conference in assists per set (9.84) and Liesl Haugen is fourth in digs per set (3.88).

• NMU was picked fifth in the GLIAC Preseason Poll after going 12-18 overall and 9-9 in the conference last season.

 

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

• Roosevelt is 1-13 overall and 0-6 in the GLIAC. The lone victory was over Malone.

• Its the first season of NCAA Division II and GLIAC play for the Lakers.

• Viktoria Marysheva leads the offense with 2.74 kills per set. Zoe Hutchinson sets the attack with 6.64 assists pet set, and Cydney Martinez anchors the defense with 2.6 digs per set.

 

ROOSEVELT CONNECTIONS

• Head coach Nicasio Paquiz Jr. was an assistant coach for Michigan Tech under Matt Jennings during the 2012 season.

• Current Michigan Tech assistant coach Mallory Nickelson was a four-year starting libero and setter Roosevelt. She was the team captain in 2020-21 and graduated with the second-most assists in school history. She was an all-conference selection in 2019 and set the single-match school record for assists with 68 in 2019.

 

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Sept. 9 – Tess Hayes – GLIAC Setter of the Week

 

UP NORTH ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Rachel Zurek was named to the UP North All-Tournament Team.

• She hit .468 on the weekend while averaging 2.3 kills per set.

 

OREDIGGER CLASSIC MVP

• Junior Meg Raabe was named MVP on the All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.6 kills and 4.0 points per set on the weekend.

• She tallied 54 kills, 14 digs, 8 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 aces in the opening weekend.

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL

• In the 2024 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Huskies were picked third in the GLIAC behind Ferris State and Grand Valley State which both received first-place votes.

• The Bulldogs had 97 points, including seven first-place votes. The Lakers were a close second with 94 points and four first-place nominations. The Huskies had 79 points followed by Parkside (71), Northern Michigan (67), Wayne State (48), Davenport (46), and Purdue Northwest (44) in the top eight. Lake Superior State (27), Saginaw Valley State (18), and Roosevelt (14) rounded out the poll.

 

COACH JENNINGS

• Head coach Matt Jennings is in his 13th season with the Huskies and has won 214 matches overall. He ranks second in wins in program history.

• Jennings is the chair of NCAA Volleyball Championships Committee. It’s the sixth year working on NCAA postseason matters.

• 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.

LAST SEASON

• Tech finished the 2023 season 15-16 overall record with a 10-8 mark in the GLIAC.

• The Huskies advanced the GLIAC Tournament Semifinal for the seventh straight season as the fourth seed.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNERS

• Kaycee Meiners – 2023 All-GLIAC First Team

• Meg Raabe – 2023 All-GLIAC Second Team

• Tess Hayes – 2023 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, All-GLIAC Second Team

• Rachel Zurek – 2023 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Michigan Tech travels to Hammond, Indiana for the 16th annual Midwest Regional Volleyball Crossover Tournament on Oct. 18-19. The Huskies will play three matches.

• The Huskies get back to GLIAC action at Wayne State and Grand Valley State the next weekend.