seaside, california – No. 23 Michigan Tech wrapped up its season-opening weekend with two more sweeps on Saturday (August 27), finishing 4-0 at the Otter Invitational. All were straight sets. The Huskies defeated California State University’s Dominguez Hills in the morning and tournament host California State University’s Monterey His Bay in the afternoon.
“What a great day to be a Husky,” said tech coach Matt Jennings. We’ve fought through some really tough moments in every match of , and today was a great example of how important it is to play the whole. The comeback in the first set against Monterey was the turning point in the game, and perhaps the turning point as a team early in the season, and we showed some things. And toughness for sure. It’s a great way to start the season.”
Outside hitter Jillian Quizenga was named MVP of the Otter Invitational and made the All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.25 kills per set and posting a .265 over the weekend. Setter Lina Espejo Ramirez and libero Carissa Beyer were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Espejo his Ramirez averaged 9.58 assists per set and 2.92 digs per set. Bayer led the Huskies defense with 3.8 digs per set.
“Gillian stood out to us all weekend,” said Jennings. “She really brought it on offense and scored some big points for us. Lina did a very nice job running the court in all four games. The back coat was firmly fixed.
“We are safely home and ready for another big weekend in Kenosha.”
Michigan Tech 3, Dominguez Hills, CA 0
The Huskies beat the Toros 26-24, 25-20, 25-15 to start the day. 515 in the first set he had 20 kills. Black and Gold closed out the second set with a 9-5 run and cruised through the third set with 7-1 and 5-0 runs.
Quizenga had 14 kills in the match for a .444. Lindy Oujiri added her 9 kills, while Meg Raabe and Janie Grindland each added 5 kills. Espejo Ramirez had a double-double with 33 assists and 11 digs. Beyer led with her twelve digs.
Michigan Tech 3, Monterey Bay, CA 0
Tech trailed in all three sets but recovered to beat the Otters 26-24, 25-20, 25-22. CSUMB held a set point at first before the Huskies pushed back with his 5 straight to take a 1-0 lead after a kill by Espejo-Ramirez. Black and Gold scored his 8 of the last 9 points in second to put him ahead 2–0, and at the end of the third he won 6–1.
Raabe led the offense with 11 kills and added 9 digs. Kuizenga (7) and Oujiri (6) also he scored 5+ kills. Espejo Ramírez he launched the attack with 25 assists. Bayer anchored their defense with 18 defenses, and Kate Walch stepped up with a career-high 13 digs.
The Huskies will travel to a tournament at Parkside next weekend (September 2-3) to face Upper Iowa, McKendry, Illinois Springfield and Minnesota Crookston.
