ON THE ROAD
• Michigan Tech hits the road for a pair of GLIAC matches.
• The Huskies play at Parkside at 7 p.m. on Friday
• The weekend wraps up at Purdue Northwest on Saturday at 3 p.m.
• The Black and Gold are 9-7 overall and 5-3 in the GLIAC.
• Tech plays Parkside for the first time this season and swept PNW last weekend in Houghton.

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.
 
GLIAC POW
• Rachel Zurek is the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight time.
• In a pair of home sweeps, she tallied 20 kills, averaging 3.33 per set while hitting .237. • Zurek tallied eight kills and three blocks against Lake Superior State on Friday and 12 kills versus Purdue Northwest on Saturday.
• She leads the GLIAC with 264 kills and is second, averaging 4.19 kills per set.

LAST TIME OUT
• Tech swept its second and third straight matches at the SDC Gym, defeating Lake Superior State Friday and Purdue Northwest on Saturday.
• Rachel Zurek led the offense with 3.33 kills per set, Madelynn Kreider set the attack with 9.67 assists per set, and Kayla Heinonen and Keeley Nellis averaged 3.67 digs per set.
 
GLIAC STATISTICAL RANKING
• Rachel Zurek is second in kills per set (4.19).
• Madelynn Kreider is third in assists per set (10.10).
• Keeley Nellis is seventh in digs per set (4.03).
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKING
• Rachel Zurek is 10th in total kills (264) and in kills per set (4.19).
• Madelynn Kreider is 21st in assists per set (10.10).
 
MILESTONE MARKS
• On Oct. 22 at Northern Michigan, Rachel Zurek became the 12th player in program history to tally 1,000 kills. She ranks 10th all-time at Tech with 1,061 kills.
• On Oct. 25 in a sweep at Wayne State, Amelia Albers became the 14th player in program history to tally 1,000 digs. She averages over 3.01 digs per set for her career, which ranks 12th all-time at Tech.

SCOUTING PARKSIDE
• Parkside is 11-5 overall and 4-4 in the GLIAC. Conference wins are over LSSU (2) and PNW (2).
• Avary Polavin leads the Rangers with 3.56 kills per set. Lucy Russ sets the offense with 6.77 assists per set. Natalie Harris averages 5.70 digs per set to lead the GLIAC.
• Parkside was picked fifth in the GLIAC Preseason Poll after going 19-9 overall and 9-7 in the GLIAC in 2025.
 
SCOUTING PNW
• Purdue Northwest is 2-13 overall and 0-8 in the GLIAC. The two wins are over Illinois Springfield and Nova Southeastern.
• Anika Huelskamp leads the offense with 2.28 kills per set, Addison Smith sets the attack with 4.94 assists per set, and Giana Frayer leads the defense, averaging 2.22 digs per set.
• The Lions were picked eighth in the GLIAC Preseason Poll after going 13-13 overall in 2025 with a 7-9 conference record.
 
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 annual Midwest Regional Crossover is Oct. 16-17 back in Hammond, where the Huskies will play their final three non-conference matches.
• The final part of the schedule begins at Grand Valley State (Oct. 23) and Roosevelt (Oct. 24).
The regular season wraps up with four straight home matches against Wayne State (Oct. 30), Grand Valley State (Oct. 31), 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.

HALL OF FAMER
• Sara (Nash) Hurley will be inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in October.
• She was a middle blocker for the volleyball Huskies from 1991-94.
• Tech went 81-53 over her four seasons and 57-10 over the final two seasons, twice going to the NCAA Tournament as regional finalists and winning the GLIAC Regular Season and GLIAC Tournament in 1994.
• Nash received AVCA All-Region and All-GLIAC Second Team honors in 1994.
• She ranks fourth in career blocks (398) and fifth in career blocks per game (0.97).
 
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