BACK ACROSS THE BRIDGE
• Michigan Tech hits the road for a pair of GLIAC matches in the final trip of the regular season.
• The Huskies play at No. 19 Grand Valley State at 6 p.m. on Friday
• The weekend wraps up at Roosevelt on Saturday at 3 p.m.
• The Black and Gold are 10-11 overall and 5-5 in the GLIAC.
• It'll be the first matches this season against the two opponents.

WATCH THE MATCHES
• All 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.

LAST TIME OUT
• Tech went 1-2 at the 18th annual Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover Tournament, sweeping Findlay and falling in five to Missouri-St. Louis and No. 22 Indianapolis.
• Rachel Zurek led the offense with 4.08 kills per set, Madelynn Kreider set the attack with 10.69 assists per set, and Keeley Nellis led the defense with 4.31 digs per set.
 
CROSSOVER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Rachel Zurek was named to the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team.
• She averaged 4.08 kills per set in the three matches. She tallied 10 kills in a sweep of Findlay, notched 15 kills against Missouri-St. Louis, and added a career-high 28 kills versus No. 22 Indianapolis.
• Zurek leads the GLIAC with 342 kills this season, which is sixth in the nation. She is averaging 4.12 kills per set, which is second in the GLIAC and 15th nationally.
 
GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING
• Rachel Zurek is second in kills per set (4.12).
• Madelynn Kreider is third in assists per set (9.98).
• Keeley Nellis is sixth in digs per set (4.13).
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKING
• Rachel Zurek is sixth in total kills (342) and 14th in kills per set (4.12).
• Madelynn Kreider is 28th in assists per set (9.98).
 
MILESTONE MARKS
• On Sept. 22 at Northern Michigan, Rachel Zurek became the 12th player in program history to tally 1,000 kills. She ranks ninth all-time at Tech with 1,139 kills.
• On Sept. 25 in a sweep at Wayne State, Amelia Albers became the 14th player in program history to tally 1,000 digs. She ranks 13th all-time at Tech with 1,083 digs.

SCOUTING GVSU
• Grand Valley State is 17-5 overall and 9-1 in the GLIAC. The lone conference loss was to Ferris State.
• Both the Huskies and Lakers fell in five to Missouri-St. Louis at the Crossover.
• The Lakers are ranked No. 19 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll.
• Finley Arp leads a balanced Lakers' offense with 2.73 kills per set. Gabby Orlet sets the offense with 9.88 assists per set. Lexi Armstrong averages 4.91 digs per set.
• GVSU was picked second in the GLIAC Preseason Poll after going 19-9 overall and 12-4 in the GLIAC in 2025.
 
SCOUTING ROOSEVELT
• Roosevelt is 5-15 overall and 2-8 in the GLIAC. The two conference wins have been over NMU and Purdue Northwest.
• Aleksandra Barac leads the offense with 1.97 kills per set, Merryck Brackett sets the attack with 4.01 assists per set, and Madison Howard leads the defense, averaging 2.54 digs per set.
• The Lakers were picked 11th in the GLIAC Preseason Poll after going 2-26 overall in 2025 with a 1-15 conference record.
 
ROOSEVELT CONNECTION
• Michigan Tech assistant coach Mallory Nickelson was a four-year starting libero and setter at Roosevelt.
• She was the team captain in 2020-21 and graduated with the second-most assists in school history. She was an all-conference selection in 2019 and set the single-match school record for assists with 68 in 2019.
 
GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sept. 14 – Keeley Nellis – GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week
• Sept. 28 – Rachel Zurek – GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 5 – Rachel Zurek – GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• The regular season wraps up with four straight home matches at the SDC Gym.
• Tech hosts Wayne State (Oct. 30) and Grand Valley State (Oct. 31) next week.
• The final week of the regular season is against NMU (Nov. 3) and Roosevelt (Nov. 7).
 
MVP OF MOUNTAIN LION CLASSIC
• Senior outside hitter Rachel Zurek was named the MVP of the UCCS Mountain Lion Classic.
• Zurek averaged 4.17 kills per set in the four matches while hitting .268. She tallied 17 kills in a five-set loss to UCCS, 17 kills in a five-set victory over St. Edward's, a career-best 24 kills in a five-set loss to South Dakota Mines, and 17 kills in a sweep of Midwestern State. Zurek added 11 digs and four block assists on the weekend.
 
UP NORTH ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Senior outside hitter Rachel Zurek was named to the UP North All-Tournament Team.
• Zurek averaged 4.38 kills per set while hitting .275 during the opening weekend of play.
• She tallied 16 kills against Minnesota Duluth, 23 versus St. Cloud State, 14 in three sets against Cal State East Bay, and 17 in a sweep of Winona State. Zurek added five solo blocks, three block assists, and three digs.
 
COACH PINDRAL
• Cindy Pindral begins her second season as Head Coach after being named to the position 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.
 
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
• The Huskies return 10 student-athletes from 2025, with four who earned All-GLIAC honors.
• The Black and Gold welcome seven newcomers, with six freshmen and a transfer.
 
PRESEASON GLIAC POLL
1. Ferris State, 99 (9)
2. Grand Valley State, 90 (2)
3. Wayne State, 78
4. Northern Michigan, 73
5. Parkside, 69
6. Davenport, 52
7. Michigan Tech, 49
8. Purdue Northwest, 34
9. Saginaw Valley State, 32
10. Lake Superior State, 16
11. Roosevelt, 13

LAST SEASON
• Tech finished the 2025 season with a 12-16 overall record.
• The Huskies went 9-7 in the GLIAC to tie for fifth overall and were the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.
• The Black and Gold were 6-3 at the SDC.

ALL-GLIAC RETURNERS
• Rachel Zurek – 2025 & 2024 All-GLIAC Second Team, 2023 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention
• Paige Wagner – 2025 & 2024 All-GLIAC Second Team
• Madelynn Kreider – 2025 All-GLIAC Second Team
• Tricia Kennedy – 2025 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention
 
NCAA D1 TRANSFER ON ROSTER
• Keeley Nellis – Lamar University