While Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball coach Matt Jennings would no doubt feel better about where his team is at if its record was better than the 6-5 it is at the moment, there has been a lot for the Huskies to deal with already in this young season.

They opened the season on the road in Golden, Colorado, battling three schools that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, and a fourth that is a perennial contender. They defeated all four teams, which was enough to earn them a ranking the following week in the Top 25.

However, that ranking disappeared as quickly as it appeared, as the Huskies returned home and dropped three matches to Minnesota-Duluth, Findlay, and St. Cloud State, winning just one set along the way.

Now in GLIAC play, the Huskies are 2-2 after splitting each of their first two weekends. The losses came at Wisconsin-Parkside in five sets, and at home against No. 7 Ferris State in three sets.

At the same time, the Huskies have been dealing with some nagging injuries to some key components, most recently with junior outside hitter Meg Raabe, who leads the Huskies with 135 kills this season. Given that she is putting up 3.38 kills per set this season, which is a full kill higher per set than anyone else on the roster, Jennings has been trying to find solutions to give her some rest in moments where he can.

“We put Brooke (Dzwik) in for Megan’s back row this weekend,” he said. “Meahgan really was wearing down a little bit, just in terms of the amount of touches. So, I think that was a good switch. I think Brooke did a good job for us this weekend.”

Defensively, Dzwik has 61 digs this season, good for fourth on the team. She also has 12 aces, which is third-best on the team.

The Huskies are also starting to work junior setter Avery Brown and sophomore outside hitter Jacqueline Yancy into the lineup more often. Both did some really good things, according to Jennings, this past weekend.

“You know, Avery, as a serve sub, was nice to see,” Jennings said. “Jackie going six rotations, she seems pretty comfortable there. So (I was) happy with the personnel mixes we got in there this weekend.”

Having two setters on the floor at the same time might seem like a risky strategy, but Jennings liked how Brown, who transferred to Michigan Tech from Akron, worked her way into the lineup.

“She wants to play,” he said. “I mean, we have a group of people who want to contribute, and every time we’ve called on an Avery, or someone in a role that maybe seemed limited or narrow in scope, they’re eager to it, and that’s a good sign.”

The Huskies also employed two liberos against Davenport on Saturday, with both sophomore Amelia Albers and junior Alayna Corwin platooning in and out of the match.

“One thing that we did, I thought was pretty unique this match for us, was we utilized the two-libero rule,” said Jennings. “If you think about the way that the scorebook, or the game, just kind of use liberos is two people as one. So, if a libero is going in for a libero, they just can do it. Amelia’s got a really nice serve, and is really strong in serve-receive. We really like Alayna’s energy on defense, and (she) can certainly pass for us, too.

“So we tried it. It worked out for us, this match, and they seem to work well together with it. Isn’t that just part of it, like, trying to learn what you have, and how to use it the best way you can? It worked out for us.”

Returning to taking the offensive load off of Raabe at the pin, Jennings could not help but smile at how effective Yancy proved to be on the weekend. Against Ferris State, she led the Huskies with 12 kills. She put up another seven against the Panthers on Saturday. She has also proven she can play in all six rotations, which helps keep her on the floor longer when Raabe needs a breather.

“You know, she (injured) her ankle pretty good in practice the week before our home weekend (the UP North Tournament), and she was out for that, and kind of recovering through that,” Jennings said. “Jackie seems to be feeling pretty good right now. Jackie’s a really good, volatile player, and a really good competitor. She wants to compete, and she’s learning her game face on this court and her role. As she gets more comfortable with it, the sky’s the limit. Just reminding her to be aggressive is part of it, but she’s got really great, viable instincts and nice touch, and she wants to win.”

There is still a lot of season yet to come, and inevitably, there will be more chances for other players to show they can be a part of helping the Huskies reach their ultimate goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament this season.