Michigan Tech’s Madelynn Kreider (8) of Kingsford sets up teammate Tricia Kennedy (20) against Northern Michigan on Tuesday at Marquette. Kreider had a season-best 47 assists in the match. (Michigan Tech photo)

MARQUETTE — The Michigan Tech volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller at Northern Michigan on Tuesday. The Huskies forced a fifth set after dominating the fourth, but the Wildcats survived three match points to win it 20-18.

The match was two hours and two minutes long and had 45 ties and 20 lead changes.

“We battled our hearts out and put forth a really nice match, but unfortunately fell just short,” Tech coach Cindy Pindral said. “Both teams were so evenly matched that it was a true back-and-forth battle. I’m proud of our team for showing up ready to play in such a big game, and we will only continue to grow from here.”

There were 12 ties and eight lead changes in the fifth set alone. The Huskies (8-13, 5-5 GLIAC) held set point leads of 14-13, 15-14, and 17-16 with NMU (10-12, 7-3 GLIAC) tying it each time. McKenzie Gruner had the final three kills for the home team to seal the win. Gruner had six kills in the fifth and 24 total in the match.

Rachel Zurek led the Huskies with 15 kills, while Brooke Dzwik was two kills shy of a season-high with 14 and also tallied 15 digs.

Kingsford’s Madelynn Kreider tallied a season-best 47 assists and added 13 digs for the Huskies.

Michigan Tech will continue its three-match road trip to Parkside on Friday and Roosevelt on Saturday.