Huskies end season with 15-14 record; 9-7 in conference play
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The 2026 Michigan Tech volleyball season came to an end Friday as the Huskies fell to No. 1 Ferris State 3-0 in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinal. The Bulldogs won 25-14, 25-18, and 25-22 to win their 29th straight match of the season.
“I am so proud of this team for their fight and resiliency throughout this whole season while battling injuries and high-level competition,” Tech coach Cindy Pindral said. “We put on a great show and really tested Ferris this evening. Huge shout out to Ella Maxwell for stepping up when we needed her to fill in some big shoes at the setter position.”
After five early ties and a pair of lead changes, the Bulldogs used a 7-1 run early in the opening set to take an 11-5 lead. The Huskies committed 18 errors, and the Bulldogs were limited to eight as the home team won 25-14.
Similar to the first set, FSU used another rally to take a six-point lead in the early stages of the frame. Paige Wagner and Rachel Zurek combined for eight kills in the second, but the home team wouldn’t allow the Huskies to get closer than four points down the stretch and led 2-0 at the break after a 25-18 set win.
The third set had five ties and two lead changes. The teams battled to a 20-20 tie before the Bulldogs closed out the match, scoring five of the final seven points. Kayla Heinonen led Tech with four kills in the third.
Tech ended its season with a 15-14 overall record under second-year Head Coach Cindy Pindral. FSU will play the winner of the late semifinal between Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan in the GLIAC Championship on Saturday.
Paige Wagner finished with seven kills while hitting .545 with two blocks. Kayla Heinonen and Rachel Zurek also added seven kills each. Ella Maxwell stepped into the setter spot for the first time and tallied 27 assists and 10 digs. Keeley Nellis led the Huskies with 12 digs.
Gabby Piazza had a match-high 14 kills for the Bulldogs while Hayley Wegener tallied 19 assists, and Hope Davies registered 15 digs.
