Zurek, Wagner combine for 25 kills
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team earned a five-set win over Grand Valley State on Saturday at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-25, and 15-9 to improve to 8-12 overall and 5-4 in the GLIAC.
In the fifth set, Tech jumped out to a 4-0 lead and continued the rally into a seven-point advantage. The Lakers had a 4-0 run to make a late push, but the Huskies closed out the win with a Brooke Dzwik kill, a Paige Wagner kill, and then a Paige Wagner block.
“It was an important win. The standings are one thing, but it’s more important for our team morale,” Tech coach Cindy Pindral said. “After the first, we started to focus on what we can do better and stopped focusing on the opponent. Our bench also got more involved in the game and that stuff matters.”
After falling in the first set, the Huskies quickly bounced back with back-to-back set victories to take the lead. The Lakers led throughout the first and again early in the second before a 7-2 run sparked on the serve of Amelia Albers put Tech in front. Tech had 12 kills in the second and forced the visitors into 13 errors to tie the match.
In the third, the Huskies never trailed and controlled the net with five blocks. Rachel Zurek had four kills, and Julia Fledderjohn had 10 digs in the backcourt.
GVSU (13-7, 7-3 GLIAC) forced a fifth set after a dominant fourth set where they hit .654.
Rachel Zurek tallied a match-high 14 kills. Paige Wagner had 11 kills and eight blocks while hitting .304. Madelyn Torola added nine kills, while Brooke Dzwik and Tricia Kennedy added seven kills each. Madelyn Kreider set a season-high 45 assists. Julia Fledderjohn had her fifth 20-dig match with a match-high 24 digs.
The Huskies have a quick turnaround, traveling to Northern Michigan on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match at Vandament Arena.
