HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Aided by double-doubles from sophomore
Veronica Armstrong (Battle Creek, Mich./Central) and junior Kali
Jeter (Middleton, Wis.), the Michigan Tech volleyball team capped
Senior Day by topping Saginaw Valley State, 3-1 (30-20, 30-18,
25-30, 30-27), at the SDC Gym Saturday afternoon. The Huskies are
now 15-13 overall and 11-7 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference. The Cardinals dropped to 14-12 in all games
and 6-11 in conference play.
"What a great way to end the home season for our seniors," said
head coach Krista Mikesch. "After moving quickly in the first two
games we hit a bit of a lull, but credit our players for taking
their play to a higher level in the fourth game. SVSU is a
much-improved team from last year and they made us work for this
win."
"Overall, I am very pleased with the way we played this weekend.
The wins over Northwood and Saginaw Valley State could loom large
in the regional rankings. That being said, we have to keep working
in preparation for the conference tournament coming up this
week."
After a back-and-forth affair in the first 20 points of the first
game, Tech started to gain a sizable cushion. The home team held a
16-13 lead before rattling off a 14-7 run to close the stanza. The
Huskies compiled a .359 hitting percentage (17-3--39) in the
opening frame.
MTU trailed just once in the second game and gained a 12-point
victory.
Saginaw Valley State came out hungry in the third session, grabbing
an early lead that it would not relinquish. Tech battled back to
within three points multiple times, but the visitors held on for a
five-point win.
The two teams traded points for much of the fourth game, until Tech
put the match away with an Armstrong kill from senior setter Amanda
Mackenthun (Waconia, Minn./Mayer Lutheran).
Armstrong ended the day with 12 digs, 11 kills, two block assists,
one block solo and one service ace. Jeter had 12 kills and 12 digs,
while also tallying five block assists and one service ace.
Sophomore Jen Jung (Andover, Minn./Coon Rapids) led all players
with 14 kills and she also picked up four block assists and two
block solos. Senior Amanda Neuhalfen (Arlington, Neb.) contributed
nine kills, a team-high six block assists, and four digs. Sophomore
Kelsey Skoog (Long Lake, Minn./Orono) also finished with nine
kills, in addition to 16 digs, two block assists and one service
ace.
Mackenthun provided a total of 26 assists, compared to freshman
Alison Greene (Andover, Minn./Totino Grace), who handed out 24
helpers.
Senior Laura Gintant (Libertyville, Ill.) put together a
career-high 10 digs in her final home game as a Husky.
Danielle Dryer (13 kills) and Suzanne Beaver (12 kills) led the
Cardinals' offense. Amy Howard tallied a match-high 32 assists in
the loss.
MTU crafted a .202 hitting percentage, while SVSU registered a .092
attack percentage.
The Huskies held a 13-7 lead in the blocking battle.
The 2006 regular season is now complete. Michigan Tech will await a
date with either Grand Valley State or Ferris State on Tuesday
(Oct. 31) in a quarterfinal match in the GLIAC Tournament. The
contest will be played at 7 p.m. in either Allendale, Mich., or Big
Rapids, Mich.
Notes: Gintant, Mackenthun and Neuhalfen were each honored for
Senior Day ... Tech finished the season with an 8-3 record at home,
which marked its best home record since 1997, when the Huskies were
9-2 at the SDC Gym ... This weekend's sweep of Northwood and
Saginaw Valley State marked the first time since 2001 that MTU beat
both NU and SVSU in Houghton on the same weekend.
