HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Despite a spirited effort by the Michigan
Tech volleyball team in front of 409 fans on "Hawaiian Day",
defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Grand Valley State
defeated the Huskies 3-0 Saturday afternoon at the SDC Gym. The
Lakers won by scores of 30-22, 30-27, 30-27.
Tech is now 7-8 overall and 3-3 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference play, while GVSU improved to 13-1 overall and
6-0 in the GLIAC.
"We always want to win, but I think we competed hard against a
great team today," said eighth-year head coach Krista Mikesch. "We
have come a long way since our loss to Minnesota Duluth. The effort
was there throughout the match and we worked hard to force a fourth
game. Now we have to remember what it felt like to play well
against the national champions and bring that intensity into
tomorrow's match."
The Lakers never trailed in the opening frame, but the final games
were tightly-contested throughout.
The two teams were tied at 8-8 in game two, when the Huskies
rattled off an 6-1 run. The spurt was highlighted by two kills from
redshirt freshman Kaari Nevanen (Duluth, Minn./East) and another
from junior Kali Jeter (Middleton, Wis.). The visitors then
responded by taking eight of the next 12 points to deadlock the
score at 18-18. The Lakers pulled ahead from there and edged the
Huskies by a three-point margin.
Redshirt freshman Kelly Jorgensen (Eden Prairie, Minn.) registered
six kills in the middle frame.
Tech fell behind 18-9 in game three, but put together an 18-12 run
before falling 30-27. Sophomore Veronica Armstrong (Battle Creek,
Mich./Central) tallied three kills in the final session.
Jorgensen and Armstrong led the Huskies' offensive attack with nine
kills each. Jorgensen picked up three block assists, while
Armstrong added six digs and two block solos.
Sophomore Jen Jung (Andover, Minn.) notched eight kills with a
team-best .294 hitting percentage. She also chipped in three block
assists and one block solo. Jeter finished with seven kills and six
digs and Nevanen contributed five kills.
Senior Amanda Mackenthun (Waconia, Minn./Mayer Lutheran) handed out
23 assists, compared to 16 helpers from freshman Alison Greene
(Andover, Minn./Totino Grace).
Sophomore libero Kelsey Skoog (Long Lake, Minn./Orono) provided a
team-high 17 digs.
For the match, Michigan Tech compiled a .146 hitting percentage,
while Grand Valley State hit .189. The Huskies filed a 9-5 edge in
total blocks.
Tech challenges Ferris State Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. contest
at the SDC Gym.
