MTU third, NMU fifth, LSSU ninth
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team is the third pick in the GLIAC Volleyball Preseason Poll the conference announced Wednesday (Aug. 22). The Huskies are behind Ferris State and Grand Valley State which both received first-place votes.
The 2024 Michigan Tech volleyball season gets underway on September 6 when the Huskies travel west to Colorado Mines for a four-match weekend. The Huskies return four all-GLIAC honorees from a season ago when they advanced to the GLIAC Semifinal for the seventh straight season.
In the 2024 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Bulldogs had 97 points, including seven first-place votes. The Lakers were a close second with 94 points and four first-place nominations. The Huskies had 79 points followed by Parkside (71), Northern Michigan (67), Wayne State (48), Davenport (46), and Purdue Northwest (44) in the top eight. Lake Superior State (27), Saginaw Valley State (18), and Roosevelt (14) rounded out the poll.
Tech will lean on veterans Kaycee Meiners and Meg Raabe and sophomores Tess Hayes and Amelia Albers. Meiners is a fifth-year and was named All-GLIAC First Team last season after leading the conference in blocks per set (1.42) and finishing fifth in hitting percentage (.334). Raabe earned second-team honors, playing six rotations and averaging 3.43 kills per set as a sophomore. Hayes was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year and was second in the conference in assists (9.71 a/s), while Albers anchored the back row with 3.44 digs per set in her first season. Rachel Zurek was a GLIAC honorable mention selection from the middle blocking position, appearing in all 31 matches as a freshman. The roster has 14 returners and five newcomers which includes a pair of transfers. Setter Avery Brown comes to Houghton from NCAA Division I Akron, and Abbi Perkins will play a fifth year of collegiate volleyball after being a two-time all-conference outside hitter at Aquinas College.
The Huskies will play 28 matches this fall with 17 GLIAC contests and 12 games at the SDC Gym. Tech hosts the UP North Tournament on September 13-14, playing Minnesota Duluth, Findlay, and St. Cloud State before GLIAC play begins. Eight of Tech’s opponents went to the NCAA Tournament last season and seven were ranked in the AVCA Top 25.
2024 GLIAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| 1. | Ferris State | 97 (7) | |
| 2. | Grand Valley State | 94 (4) | |
| 3. | Michigan Tech | 79 | |
| 4. | Parkside | 71 | |
| 5. | Northern Michigan | 67 | |
| 6. | Wayne State | 48 | |
| 7. | Davenport | 46 | |
| 8. | Purdue Northwest | 44 | |
| 9. | Lake Superior State | 27 | |
| 10. | Saginaw Valley State | 18 | |
| 11. | Roosevelt | 14 | |
