HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team is the fifth pick in the GLIAC Volleyball Preseason Poll the conference announced on Tuesday (Aug. 26). The Huskies are behind Grand Valley State, Ferris State, Wayne State, and Northern Michigan.
The 2025 Michigan Tech volleyball season gets underway on September 5 when the Huskies travel down to McKendree for a three-match weekend. The Huskies, under first-year Head Coach Cindy Pindral, return 13 student-athletes from 2024, with three who earned All-GLIAC honors. Pindral was named the eighth head coach in program history and returns to the Huskies after being an Assistant Head Coach, Assistant Coach, and Volunteer Coach with the Huskies for seven seasons from 2016 to 2022.
In the 2025 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Lakers accumulated 98 points, including eight first-place votes. FSU were close behind with 92 points and three first-place nods. WSU (76) was third and NMU (68) was one point ahead of the Huskies (67). Parkside (59), Davenport (42), and Purdue Northwest (38) were also in the top eight. Saginaw Valley State (34), Lake Superior State (18), and Roosevelt (13) rounded out the poll.
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On the court, Tech will lean on juniors
Tess Hayes and
Rachel Zurek, and sophomore
Paige Wagner. Hayes was a First Team All-GLIAC selection last season after leading the GLIAC in assists per set (10.57). Zurek was a Second Team All-GLIAC choice after averaging 2.56 kills per set while hitting .288 as a right-side hitter. Wagner hit .346 as a freshman middle last season and averaged 1.92 kills per set. The roster also has three freshmen and NCAA Division I transfer
Julia Fledderjohn from Charleston Southern University, where she was a member of the volleyball team for the past three seasons.
The Huskies will play 27 matches in the fall with 16 GLIAC contests and nine games at the SDC Gym. Six of their opponents went to the NCAA Tournament last season, and five were ranked in the final 2024 AVCA Top 25.
2025 GLIAC Volleyball Preseason 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 |
