PLAYOFF OPENER
• Michigan Tech opens the GLIAC Tournament at Wayne State on Wednesday.
• First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Matthaei Center.
• The Huskies are the No. 7 seed and the Warriors are the No. 2 seed.
• Tech went 12-15 overall and 9-7 in the GLIAC during the regular season, winning four of the last five matches.
• WSU won the only matchup of the regular season, 3-1 in Houghton.
• The Huskies and Warriors also met in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 and 2024 tournaments with Tech winning in Detroit.
 
GLIAC TOURNAMENT
• Other first round matchups are No. 8 Purdue Northwest at No. 1 Ferris State, No. 6 Parkside at No. 3 Northern Michigan, and No. 5 Davenport at No. 4 Grand Valley State.
• The GLIAC Tournament Semifinal is on Saturday and the Championship is Sunday at the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinal.

WATCH THE MATCHES
• All home and GLIAC matches are streamed on FloCollege.
• Michigan Tech fans can watch all home and conference games in volleyball, basketball, football, and soccer with one subscription.
• FloCollege provides each subscriber with access to all content and events with the purchase of a monthly or yearly subscription.
• Subscriptions are offered in two different billing packages - monthly and annual.
• Discounts are available for students enrolled at GLIAC member and associate member institutions. You must subscribe with a .edu email address to be eligible.
• FloCollege is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

SCOUTING WSU
• Wayne State is 21-5 overall and 13-3 in the GLIAC. The Warriors are 11-1 in home matches and have won five straight overall.
• WSU received votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll and was ranked No. 5 in last week's Regional Rankings.
• The Warriors lead the GLIAC in assists per set and kills per set. Kayla Dulgar leads the conference in assists per set (10.78), and Kayla Giroux leads in hitting percentage (.389) and kills per set (3.91).
• The Warriors were picked third in the GLIAC Preseason Poll after going 14-13 overall and 11-5 in the GLIAC in 2024.

FIRST MEETING
• Tech fell 3-1 to Wayne State on Oct. 24 at the SDC Gym. The Warriors won 25-14, 25-20, 16-25, and 25-16.
• Rachel Zurek led the Huskies with 12 kills. Brooke Dzwik was also in double figures with 10 kills and added six digs. Madelynn Kreider set the attack with 41 assists and added 13 digs. Julia Fledderjohn led with 16 digs, and Amelia Albers added 11 digs.
 
LAST WEEKEND
• The Huskies swept their final two matches of the regular season. Tech defeated Saginaw Valley State 3-1 on Friday and swept Lake Superior State 3-0 on Saturday.
• Rachel Zurek led the offense with 3.86 kills per set, Madelynn Kreider set the attack with 11.57 assists per set, and Julia Fledderjohn led the defense with 5.43 digs per set.
 
GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING
• Julia Fledderjohn is fourth in digs per set (4.36).
• Rachel Zurek is sixth in kills per set (3.25).
• Paige Wagner is sixth in hitting percentage (.306).
• Madelynn Kreider is seventh in assists per set (8.64).
• Tricia Kennedy is eighth in blocks per set (0.96).
• Brooke Dzwik is ninth in aces per set (0.36).
• Paige Wagner is 10th in blocks per set (0.91).
• Tricia Kennedy is 10th in hitting percentage (.299).
• Jacqueline Yancy is 10th in kills per set (3.02).
 
GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sept. 29 – Tess Hayes – Setter of the Week
• Nov. 10 – Madelynn Kreider – Setter of the Week

COACH PINDRAL
• Cindy Pindral was named the eighth Head Coach of the Michigan Tech volleyball program on December 2, 2024.
• Pindral returned to the Huskies after being an Assistant Head Coach, Assistant Coach, and Volunteer Coach with the Huskies for seven seasons from 2016 to 2022.
• During her seven years with the Huskies, the team held a 139-62 overall record. Tech went to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2017-21 and won a pair of regular-season GLIAC championships in the spring of 2021 and then repeated in the fall of 2021.
• As a freshman student-athlete at the University of Florida, Pindral was the starting setter for the Gators who went to the NCAA Sweet 16, won an SEC Championship, and were ranked as high as No. 10.
• She finished her collegiate career as a three-time starter at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She was an Academic All-American and All-RMAC selection.
 
UP NORTH ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Tricia Kennedy was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team after she averaged 1.57 kills per set and 1.14 blocks per set in the four matches while hitting .333.
• In the 3-0 sweep of Adelphi on Saturday, Kennedy tallied 11 kills and six blocks (three solo blocks and three block assists) while hitting .550. In the tournament opener at Minnesota Duluth, the junior middle blocker had seven kills and seven blocks. She added three kills on four attempts against No. 17 Barry.
 
McKENDREE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Brooke Dzwik led the Huskies with 32 kills in the three sets, averaging 3.2 per set. Also led the Black and Gold with seven aces, and 54 receptions while ranking second with 28 digs, averaging 2.8 per set.
• Rachel Zurek led the Huskies with 11 blocks on the weekend and put down 27 kills, averaging 3 per set. She had over eight kills in all three matches.
 
PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
1. Grand Valley State, 98 (8)
2. Ferris State, 92 (3)
3. Wayne State, 76
4. Northern Michigan, 68
5. Michigan Tech, 67
6. Parkside, 59
7. Davenport, 42
8. Purdue Northwest, 38
9. Saginaw Valley State, 34
10. Lake Superior State, 18
11. Roosevelt, 13

LAST SEASON
• Tech finished the 2024 season with a 17-12 overall record.
• The Huskies advanced to the GLIAC semifinal for the eighth consecutive time last season, with a 10-7 GLIAC record and a fifth-place finish in the conference.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNERS
• Tess Hayes – 2024 All-GLIAC First Team, 2023 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, 2023 All-GLIAC Second Team
• Rachel Zurek – 2024 All-GLIAC Second Team, 2023 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention
• Paige Wagner – 2024 All-GLIAC Second Team
 
NCAA D1 TRANSFERS ON ROSTER
• Avery Brown – University of Akron
• Alayna Corwin – Marshall University
• Julia Fledderjohn – Charleston Southern University