Michigan Tech freshman Meg Rabe hits the ball against Northern Michigan on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in Marquette, Mich.
MARQUETTE – The Michigan Tech volleyball team was shut out by rival Northern Michigan 3-0 on Tuesday.
The Wildcats won 25-18, 27-25 and 25-14 at Vandament Arena.
“Credit to Coach Lozier and the Wildcats on a great start to their season. There were better teams tonight.” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “We’re going to keep working to get better in all aspects of the game. We as a team take responsibility for where we fell tonight. There’s a lot of season left to go, and we need some guys to step up.”
NMU (11-2, 4-1 GLIAC) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first. The Huskies found their footing and cut the margin to three. The Wildcats closed out with a 4-0 run to take the lead. Three different Huskies had at least two kills in the frame, with Jillian Kuizenga leading the way with three.
Tech built a seven-point lead early in the second. NMU slowly closed the gap and tied it at 22. Jillian Kuizenga had a late kill, one to give Tech a 23-22 lead and then one for NMU to keep the set alive after set points. The home team got a kill in the third by Jaclyn Smith and the Huskies’ offensive error made it 2-0. Kuizenga had 5 kills in the second and Lindy Ujiri had 3 kills.
North jumped out to a quick 10-point lead in the third and never looked back.
Kuizenga hit double figures for the eighth time this season and led the Huskies with 12 kills. Lina Espejo-Ramirez is back at the line with 22 assists and nine digs. Carissa Beyer (10 digs) and Brooke Dzwick (9 digs) also stepped up defensively.
Tech is now 7-5 overall and 1-4 in the GLIAC.
The Huskies have lost four of their last five games, including three.
Tech continues its five-game road stretch at Purdue Northwest on Friday and at Parkside on Saturday.
