Houghton, Mich – The No. 19-ranked Michigan Tech volleyball team dropped its home and GLIAC opener in five sets to Davenport on Friday at SDC Gym. The Panthers won the last three sets.
“It’s incredibly frustrating,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “We beat a good team, but we gave up. Serving in the third set is what we did tonight and our other losses this season.”
Tech (6-2, 0-1 GLIAC) won the first two sets 28-26 and 25-13 to take a 2-0 lead.
The Huskies had 17 kills in the first set, with Jillian Kuizenga carrying the load with seven. There were 14 ties and five lead changes in the opening frame. Tech held three set points before DU fought back to take the point. Kuizenga had a late kill and then Meg Rabe and Morgan Radtke teamed up for a block to make it 28-26.
Tech forced the Panthers into 13 errors in the second and went on a 9-0 run with a Rabe serve to take a 20-12 advantage. It is remembered that the home team went into the break with the last five points. Three different Huskies had a pair of kills.
The Panthers (8-2, 1-0. GLIAC) went on a 7-1 run and never trailed in the third, winning 25-15. The visitors forced a fifth set after winning 25-20.
In the fifth and final frame, DU jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Huskies found their footing and tied it, but the Panthers couldn’t win, leading 11-9 and scoring the final four points.
Kuizenga led Tech with 16 kills, Lindy Oujiri added 12. Lina Espejo-Ramirez had 36 assists and 26 digs. Carissa Beyer (18), Meg Rabe (17) and Kate Walsh (11) also had double-digit digs.
The Huskies finish the weekend against Grand Valley State at 3 p.m. The Chargers swept Northern Michigan on Friday.
