SEASIDE, Calif. (WLUC) – The No. 23-ranked Michigan Tech volleyball team begins the 2022 season with a pair of sweepstakes at the Otter Invitational on the campus of Cal State Monterey Bay Friday (Aug. 26). The Huskies defeated Cal Poly Pomona in the morning and swept Academy of Arts in the afternoon.
Michigan Tech 3, Cal Poly Pomona 0
The Huskies beat the Broncos 25-23, 25-23 and 25-21 to start the day. The Otters had more kills and points than the Huskies, but Tech forced the Broncos into 18 offensive errors, eight service errors, six reception errors and three blocking errors. Tech trailed only briefly late in the first but closed out the set at six to one.
“To come out here and start the weekend by sweeping a tough, very physical Cal Poly Pomona team is a great way to start the season,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “Especially at the end of the first two sets, I was happy with the way we played late and when it was close. We came up with some big plays on both sides of the ball to close out all three sets, and it was very close for the most part. We prepared, we came together, and we came back in style to win all three.” We’ve had some veterans come through for us and at the same time we’ve seen some really good things from a few first-timers.
“The first match I thought it came down to the serve passing to win the game, our serve was on point and we consistently passed enough to pull away. We were good out of order and played solid defense.
Lindy Ujiri led the offense with 11 kills. Meg Rabe had 9 kills and 11 digs in her first match for the Huskies. Jillian Kuizenga (eight kills) and Janie Grindland (six kills) contributed offensively. Lina Espejo-Ramirez had 27 assists and led the defense with 13.
Michigan Tech 3, Academy of Art 0
The Huskies swept the City Knights 25-15, 25-18 and 25-17 late. Tech is hitting .248 while allowing opponents .061. Tech led from start to finish and trailed by 12 players.
“It’s challenging to play two games, especially on days when we’re away from home,” Jennings added. “It was good to see match two and sweep. I thought we did a good job of staying poised and working through some of the pre-season parts that all teams are working on at this point. We played together, took advantage of the points they gave us, and mostly got better mid-to-late in each set. Once again, possession and offense were key for us. The passing was very strong in this match, especially from Carissa and Meg.
Cuizenga led the attack killing 10 people. Oujiri (7), Rabe (6) and Grindland (5) also had five kills while Grindland hit .455 and added three blocks. Espejo-Ramirez had 30 assists against six different Huskies and recorded at least four rebounds.
“Jani was good all day, quick and smart to attack,” Jennings said. She also blocked well and had a lot of valuable touches that turned into transition points for us. Lena commanded the offense as we asked and did an amazing job of making her shots go. Our pins had a good and balanced attack in both matches; Low error and smart with their shot selection.
“Shout out to our true freshman, Meg, today. They tried to follow her a little at the server’s reception, and she held her own. She played a real six overs for us in both matches and had a career-best weekend.
Tech wraps up the weekend against Cal State Dominguez Hills at 12:30 pm in California and tournament host Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday (August 27) at 5:30 pm.
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