Meg Raabe leads Tech offense again
HAMMOND, Ind. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team opened GLIAC play with a 3-1 victory at Purdue Northwest on Friday. The Huskies improved to 5-3 and 9-0 all-time against the Pride after winning 25-18, 25-16, 21-25, and 25-23.
“I’m really happy to get out of there in tact and finish that match with a W,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “We started off really strong and then let the momentum shift slow us down too much there in the third and fourth. That’s a pretty fast and physical team there. A few big serving runs and clutch plays made the biggest difference in the end.”
The Black and Gold never trailed in the first two sets. Meg Raabe tallied five kills in the opening frame, and Paige Wagner got it to setpoint and then put down the winner.
Tech forced PNW into nine attacking errors in the second with Wagner dominating at the net with three blocks. Amelia Albers had a pair of three-point serving runs, and Brooke Dzwik served a five-point run. Kaycee Meiners had the winning kill before the break.
The Pride controlled late in the third set, scoring five of the final six points after a 20-all tie. Three different players for PNW had at least four kills in the third.
Tech overcame 14 ties and seven lead changes in the fourth set. Tied at 23, Tess Hayes set Meg Raabe for match point and then served an ace for the win.
Meg Raabe led a balanced offensive attack that saw five players with more than five kills. Raabe talked 13 kills and added 12 digs and four assists. Kaycee Meiners tallied eight kills, Paige Wagner added seven kills and four blocks, Rachel Zurek also put down seven kills, and Jacqueline Yancy finished with six kills in her return to the lineup.
Tess Hayes set the attack with 33 assists while adding six digs, four kills, and three aces. Amelia Albers led with 14 digs and added three aces. Brynn Erickson also had three aces and dig up 13 attacks.
Tech wraps up the GLIAC-opening weekend on Saturday at Parkside. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Eastern. The Rangers fell 3-0 to Northern Michigan on Friday.
