Seaside, California – No. 23 Michigan Tech closed out the season-opening weekend on Saturday (Aug. 27) to finish 4-0 at the Otter Invitational. The Huskies beat Cal State Dominguez Hills in the morning and rival Cal State Monterey Bay in the afternoon.
Outside hitter Jillian Kuizenga was named the Otter Invitational MVP and was on the all-season team after averaging 3.25 kills while hitting .265 over the weekend. Setter Lina Espejo-Ramirez and libero Carissa Beyer were also named to the all-tournament team. Espejo-Ramirez averaged 9.58 assists per set and 2.92 digs per set. Beyer led the Huskies’ defense with 3.8 digs per set.
Michigan Tech 3, Cal State Dominguez Hills 0
The Huskies defeated the Toros 26-24, 25-20 and 25-15 to start the day. Tech hit .515 with 20 kills in the first set. The Black and Gold closed out the second set with a 9-5 run and cruised to 7-1 and 5-0 runs in the third set.
Cuizenga had 14 kills in the game while hitting .444. Lindy Oujiri had nine kills, while Meg Rabe and Janie Grindland added five each. Espejo-Ramirez had a double-double with 33 assists and 11 blocks. Beyer led with 12 digs.
Michigan Tech 3, Cal State Monterey Bay 0
Tech trailed in all three sets but rallied to take down the Otters 26-24, 25-20 and 25-22. After a kill by Espejo-Ramirez, the Otters got within the first point before the Huskies reeled off five straight and a 1-0 lead. The Black and Gold scored eight of the final nine points of the second to take a 2-0 lead before going on a 6-1 run in the third to seal the win.
Rabe led the attack with 11 kills and added nine digs. Kuizenga (7) and Oujiri (6) killed more than five people. Espejo-Ramirez had 25 assists. Beyer finished the defense with 18 digs, while Kate Walch had a career-high 13 digs.
The Huskies travel to the Parkside Tournament next weekend (Sept. 2-3) and will play Upper Iowa, McKendree, Illinois Springfield and Minnesota Crookston.
