HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team defeated Saginaw Valley State 3-1 Friday at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won the first two 25-23 and 25-21 before the Cardinals took set three 25-19. Tech improved to 11-6 overall and 5-5 in the GLIAC with a 25-21 win in the fourth.

"I'm glad we won," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "We knew it was going to be a hard fight. Saginaw is a good team.

"I'm happy with the way we held our poise in tough moments. The third one got away from us, but we fought back late in that set to help build momentum for the fourth."

Jillian Kuizenga came out flying in the first, pounding down nine kills while hitting .438. The Huskies fought through seven ties and three lead changes. Tied at 23, Kuizenga notched a kill for set point, and then she teamed up with Janie Grindland on a block to take the 1-0 lead.

The Huskies and Cardinal went back and forth in the second with nine ties and five lead changes. SVSU held an early lead but Tech went on a 9-2 run to take a 14-13 advantage. The teams battled to a 21-all tie before Lina Espejo-Ramirez had an ace, Meg Raabe and Janie Grindland tallied kills, and an SVSU attack error gave Tech a 2-0 lead.

SVSU (9-9, 5-5 GLIAC) led by as many as nine in the third and won 25-19. The Cardinals hit .350 and tallied 17 kills.

The fourth set had nine early ties before Tech found separation with a 5-0 run that extended to an 8-1 rally. Meg Raabe and Makena Wesol combined to tally 10 kills in the fourth. Wesol had a kill for match point and then an attacking error on SVSU gave Tech the win.

Jillian Kuizenga had a match-high 15 kills. Meg Raabe and Makena Wesol each added 11 kills with Raabe adding 18 digs. Lina Espejo-Ramirez racked up 49 assists while adding 10 digs.

"I was very happy with our outsides," added Jennings. "It's what we've been working towards.

"Saginaw doesn't make a lot of mistakes. We had 101 digs in four sets. Our defense gave our offense opportunities with extended rallies."

Carissa Beyer had a career-high 35 digs. Brooke Dzwik also tallied 18 digs while Grace Novotny added 11.

The Huskies wrap up the weekend Saturday at 4 p.m. against Wayne State. Fans attending the football game can get 50 percent off their admission ticket to the volleyball match at the SDC Ticket Office.