Huskies drop four set match to Rangers

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech volleyball team opened the 2014 season with a 3-1 loss to UW-Parkside on Thursday (Sept. 4) night at the SDC Gym. The Huskies tied up the match after the second set, before the Rangers took sets three and four to pick up the win.

“Our defense broke down a bit in sets three and four,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “Parkside kept going with what was working for them, and we eren’t able to make enough adjustments.”

After Parkside took the first set 25-23, Sylvie Rokosh found her rhythm and pounded down six kills in the second set to knot the match up at the break with a 26-24 win. Tech out-hit the visitors .277 to .081 in the second frame.

Parkside then found its groove, hitting .444 in the third set (25-17) and .483 in the fourth (25-18) to win the opening match of the Joey’s Seafood and Grill Keweenaw Classic.

Rokosh tied a match-high with 14 kills. Aubrey Ficek was the other Husky with double digit kills adding 12. Rosie Aumann setup the attack with 41 assists. Defensively, Halie Hart (12), Jacqueline Aird (11), Elle Heinonen (11) and Sarah Rasmussen (10) all racked up over nine digs.

“Halie and Elle were rock solid in the back row tonight,” said Jennings. “Rosie made some mistakes, but to play the way she did after a sudden change in our system was great for her first match at Tech.”

Jackie Langer led the Rangers offensively with 14 kills, and Jeni Heller added 10. Megan Pekarek had 41 assists, while Langer and Rebecca Roembke each had a dozen digs.

The Huskies look to rebound on Friday (Sept. 5) at 1:30 p.m. against Bemidji State. Tech also plays at 7:30 p.m. against Upper Iowa. Friday’s first match is Bemidji State vs. Lake Superior State at 9:30 a.m. There are seven matches on the tournament schedule for Friday.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

(Information Courtesy of MTU Athletics)