This story was written by Michigan Tech Athletics
 

ROMEOVILLE, Ill.---Michigan Tech had its 2019 volleyball season come to an end with a 3-1 loss to No. 10 Hillsdale in the NCAA Midwest Region Semifinal Friday (Dec. 6) at Neil Carey Arena on the campus of Lewis University.

The 23rd ranked Huskies won the second set and battled through a thrilling fourth set before falling to the region's second-seeded Chargers.
 

"I think this is a weekend we're going to remember for a while," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "I'm super proud to be the coach of this team, and I'm proud of the way we played. We never stopped fighting today. There's a lot of character and heart in this team.

"There's no shame in this loss. Hillsdale is a great team. They've been good not just this year but good for a very long time."
 

Hillsdale (28-3) took control late in the first set with an 8-1 run to take the early lead after a 25-19 win. There were 12 ties in the first, and Karoline Shelton set the tone with six kills for the Chargers.
 

Tech jumped out to early 4-1 and 12-7 leads in the second after quality serving by Kristine Fink and kills by MacAulay Petersen and Olivia Ghormley.

Hillsdale rallied to tie it at 15 and take a 17-15 lead. The Huskies took 10 of the next 14 points to tie the match with a 25-21 win. Ghormley had five kills in the second and Petersen tallied her 1,000th career kill with the set clincher, becoming the ninth player in program history to reach the milestone.
 

The Chargers forced the Huskies into 12 attacking errors in the third and cruised to a 25-13 win despite the defensive efforts of Megan Utlak (eight digs) and Anna Jonynas (seven digs).

"When your season is on the line you find yourself coming together and just playing volleyball," Laura De Marchi said. "We wanted our season to end with something we were proud of."

The fourth set was one to remember. There were 13 ties and the Huskies held set point three times. Utlak was dominant in the backcourt with 12 digs in the fourth alone, and Petersen and Ghormley combined for 13 kills.
 

Hillsdale got a kill by Lindsey Mertz to tie it at 28 and then back-to-back kills by Megan Kolp to advance to the Regional Championship.
 

Ghormley had a match-high 19 kills and added 14 digs defensively for her 11th double-double of the season.
 

"I felt confident going in," Ghormley said. "We didn't have anything to lose. Laura did a good job spreading the ball around and our middles did a great job opening the seams."

Petersen added 15 kills and Courtney Kurkie tallied a season-high nine kills. Rachel Ping (eight kills, two blocks) and Emilia Widen (six kills) also chipped in offensively.
 

Laura De Marchi piled up 55 assists for her sixth 50-assist match of the season. She also added 11 digs, two kills, and a pair of service aces.
 

Utlak tied a career-high with 32 digs and Jonynas added 20 digs.
 

Friday's match was the last for seniors Kristine Fink, Courtney Kurkie, Rachel Ping, and Emilia Widen. All four were major contributing factors in the NCAA Tournament and all season long.
 

"It's a great group," said Jennings. "What a great way to end their careers. Now they'll be on to bigger and better things and they're going to make our school and program proud."

Tech finished the season with a 24-8 record, winning the most matches since 1996.

THURSDAY'S MATCH RECAP

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 23-ranked Michigan Tech volleyball team swept No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis in the NCAA Midwest Regional Quarterfinal Thursday (Dec. 5) for the Huskies' first tournament win since 1995. Tech dominated with scores 25-16, 25-12, and 25-16 at Neil Carey Arena on the campus of Lewis University.
 

"I'm thrilled with the win," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "This is something as a team we've worked very hard for. I couldn't be prouder of my players and our team. We're honored to win for our university and move on. We played very hard and played together as a team and that's what you love to see at this point in the season."
 

The Huskies improved to 24-7 overall and will play No. 10 Hillsdale in the regional semifinal on Friday at 6 p.m. Fans can watch the game for free HERE.
 

Tech jumped out to an early lead in the first set thanks to a pair of kills by MacAulay Petersen. The Huskies never trailed in the set and maintained at least a three-point cushion, using a late rally for a 25-16 win.
 

The third-seeded Tritons (29-5) held their only real lead of the match early in the second at 4-1. The Huskies responded by scoring nine of the next 10 and then went on a 10-1 run to take a commanding 21-8 lead and cruised to the 2-0 lead with a 25-12 win.

The defense forced the Tritons into seven attacking errors and got offensive contributions from Courtney Kurkie with a pair of kills and a block.
 

"To see Courtney and Kristine (Fink) come and play like that today will be a lasting memory for us from today," added Jennings. "Courtney chose to come back for a fifth year and for her to contribute today was big for us. The team has rallied around our seniors at this point in the season."
 

The Black and Gold built a 6-1 lead to begin the third set and continued its dominant play, as the Tritons burned through timeouts and subs to try and kill the momentum. Olivia Ghormley found her groove in the third with five kills, including the game-winner for the 25-16 win.
 

Petersen led a balanced offense with 10 kills while hitting .400. Ghormley finished with eight kills, while Rachel Ping and Anna Jonynas added six kills each.
 

"It feels so amazing," Petersen said. "This is something that none of us have been a part of getting a win here. For us to win for our school and get another banner in the Wood Gym means so much, and I'm so excited to keep playing.

"They probably felt how we did in 2017 and when it's your first time in the tournament it's a different stage. I think that's where our experience came in to play today."

Laura De Marchi set the attack with 29 assists while adding nine digs, five kills, and three blocks.

"We wanted to play with each other and play for each other, and we did that very well today," De Marchi said. "We're so proud and grateful to be here and have another opportunity to play in the NCAA and we showed that."
 

Jonynas paced the defense with 19 digs while Ghormley and Megan Utlak added a dozen digs each. Ping dominated the net with six blocks with Emilia Widen adding three blocks and three kills.
 

Hillsdale defeated Indianapolis in a five-set thriller in the second match of the day. The Chargers are the No. 2 seed in the region and hold a 27-3 record.
 

"Hillsdale is a really good team and one of the best in the region," said Jennings. "It's going to be a close game. We're excited to be in the next round and it's a whole new season tomorrow."