Huskies drop pair of volleyball matches
HOUGHTON – The Michigan Tech volleyball team fell to Winona State and No. 3-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Saturday (Sept. 6) to wrap up the Keweenaw Classic sponsored by Joey’s Seafood and Grill. The Huskies are now 1-4 on the season.
“We learned a lot about our team this weekend,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “Overall we’re pretty good and we’re pretty tough.
“This squad is going to be together for two years so let’s be patient. We need to get healthy and hopefully we’ll peak at the right time.”
Against Winona State in the early match, Tech fell 25-20, 25-19 and 25-12. Aubrey Ficek and Lauren Emmert led a balanced Husky attack with seven kills each. Rosie Aumann had 23 assists while Jacqueline Aird led with 10 digs.
“I know we’re a better team than the way we played against Winona State,” Jennings said. “We didn’t make very good decisions, and I wish we could have that one back.”
The Warriors were led offensively by Taylor Goar with 14 kills. McKenna Larsen setup the offense with 33 assists and Danielle Rampart had 11 digs defensively.
In the tournament’s final match, the Bulldogs defeated the Huskies 25-16, 25-13 and 25-21. Ficek had eight kills, Aumann tallied 20 assists and Halie Hart led the defense with nine digs.
“Duluth isn’t going to lose very many matches this year with three returning All-Americans,” said Jennings. “I was pretty happy with the way we played, but we let down in the second set. We did respond in the third set even though we lost.”
Mariah Scharf had a match-high 17 kills for UMD, while Ashley Hinsch racked up 42 assists. Julie Rainey tallied 20 digs.
Michigan Tech hosted 16 matches over the three days. Minnesota Duluth and Winona State both left winning all four of their matches. Bemidji State (2-2), Lake Superior State (0-4), Northern Michigan (0-4), Upper Iowa (3-1) and UW-Parkside (3-2) also participated.
“I can’t say enough about our staff here at Michigan Tech and what we did this weekend,” added Jennings. “I’ve been to a lot of tournaments and this was a classy weekend. I had a lot of great compliments.”
The Huskies begin GLIAC play next weekend at Lake Superior State (Sept. 12) and Northwood (Sept. 13).
(Information Courtesy of MTU Athletics)