Michigan Tech volleyball overcame Upper Peninsula rival Northern Michigan on senior night in a five set Halloween match up. Seniors Veronica Armstrong, Kaari Nevanen, Allison Greene, Lyndsey Dixon and Melissa Axtell were greeted by their parents and honored by their home crowd prior to Madeline Haben’s serve, which resulted in a Michigan Tech point to set the tone for the first set.
Haben recorded a double double 53 assists and 12 digs, which helped players like Armstrong (12 kills) and Kristine Sexton (17 kills) to pound down important kills at key points in the games. The Huskies grabbed game one 25-14, thanks to 46.7 percent hitting accuracy.  The Wildcats responded in games two and three with a pair of wins, 25-19 and 25-23, taking advantage of the scrambling Husky defense.
While Northern Michigan played consistently, their efforts began to cool off. In games four and five, their hitting dropped to 14 percent in the fourth and lower yet in the fifth with only four successful kills and six errors on 17 attempts.  The Wildcats found themselves down by six points thanks to hitting and digging error, before they were able to respond. Riding a wave of energy from their home crowd and a small contingent of pep band members, Michigan Tech closed out set five and the match, 15-7.
Haben was “very happy with how the game went.” The team has struggled to finish off their opponents and focus in on their play specifically throughout the season. Haben hopes that the team will continue the team’s winning mentality when they head out on the road this weekend to play Ferris State and Grand Valley State Universities.
The Huskies suffered a 1-3 loss to the Bulldogs (9-5) in mid-September before rebounding the following day to steal a win over Grand Valley State (10-4) in a close five game match, 15-13. As Haben expressed, finishing will be key.
Michigan Tech improves to 9-5 in conference and 13-12 overall. They will play in Big Rapids, Mich., against Ferris State, Friday, at 12 p.m. For more information, visit mtulode.com.