Raabe, Zurek combine for 29 kills
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team defeated Saginaw Valley State 3-1 Friday at Hamilton Gym. The Huskies won 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, and 25-18, winning the fourth of their last five matches and improving to 15-11 overall and 9-7 in the GLIAC.
“Winning on the road late in the season isn’t easy in this league,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “I’m glad we got it done here tonight, and I thought we played well for most of the match. We’re looking forward to picking it back up tomorrow in what’s a pretty quick turn around.”
The Huskies jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first and led by as many as eight. SVSU closed to within four late in the frame, but a kill by Kaycee Meiners made it setpoint and the Cardinals had an attacking error to give the Black and Gold the lead. Rachel Zurek tallied five kills in the first.
SVSU (6-20, 3-12 GLIAC) responded in the second and never trailed to tie the match. The Cardinals hit .344 and held the Huskies to .154. Sarah Veale put down eight kills for the home team in the second.
Tech fought through five early ties and three lead changes but led by as many as five in the third. Meg Raabe had five kills in the set, including the winner after Kath Loch made it setpoint.
The Black and Gold built an early five-point lead in the fourth and never looked back. Neither offense got into a groove in the final frame but the Huskies forced 14 errors to finish off the match.
Meg Raabe led the Huskies with 16 kills while hitting .318. Rachel Zurek added 13 kills and hit .323. Kaycee Meiners (9), Kate Loch (8), and Paige Wagner (7) also added to the offense that Tess Hayes set with 48 assists. Amelia Albers led with 20 digs while Brynn Erickson added 11.
The Huskies wrap up the road trip with the regular season finale on Saturday at Lake Superior State. First serve is set for 2 p.m. at Bud Cooper Gym.
