DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (12-11 overall, 5-7 GLIAC) is ready for its final four matches of the 2026 regular season.  That road swing will begin this week with a trip to Michigan Tech (12-11 overall, 7-5 GLIAC) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Northern Michigan (11-12 overall, 7-5 GLIAC) on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Coach's Corner
"Competitively, this is a challenging trip against Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan, two very good opponents," said head coach Tim Koth.  "We do always try to enjoy the experience of the Upper Peninsula in the fall, so this should make the trip fun!"

Warrior Strong
Starting on offense, three players have powered Wayne State's hitting attack as of late.  That trio includes senior outside hitter Katie Smith (273 kills, .245 hitting percentage), junior opposite Kyleigh Weck (193, .353) and sophomore outside hitter Lauren Essenpreis (151, .114).  That .353 efficiency for Weck leads the team and ranks fifth in the league.  Senior setter Kayla Dulgar continues to lead the Green and Gold in assists with 871 while both Smith and Doga Muhtaroglu have paced the service ace department with 29 apiece.  Smith and Muhtaroglu are two of six with double-digit aces, the other four being freshman libero Giselle Burlingame with 21, Dulgar with 20, Essenpreis with 14, and rookie defensive specialist Bryn Mullins with 10.  Defensively for the Warriors, Burlingame (321 digs) and sophomore middle blocker Katerina Stout (58 total blocks) are the squad's frontrunners.

GLIAC Setter of the Week
Dulgar was named GLIAC Setter of the Week for the second straight week and eighth time in her career on Monday afternoon.   The honor came after Dulgar totaled 89 assists (9.9 per set), 29 digs (3.2 per set), seven kills, and a pair of double-doubles while reaching 1,000 digs for her career.  Starting on Tuesday against Davenport, the senior setter finished with six kills (.545 hitting percentage), 41 assists, 13 digs, and a block assist.  Then in the win over Parkside on Friday, Dulgar tallied 48 assists, 16 digs and surpassed 1,000 career digs.

Last Time Out - Michigan Tech (Sept. 25; L, 0-3)
- Wayne State hit .298 for the match with 48 kills and 14 errors on 114 total attacks.
- Michigan Tech's .368 efficiency included 48 kills and six mishaps on 114 attempts.
- That output is the best by a Green and Gold opponent this season.
- The Huskies came out of the gates hot with a .515 clip (19-2-33) in the opening set.
- The Warriors were at their best percentage wise in that same period at .370 (12-2-27).
- Each of the six major head-to-head categories were decided by three or less.
- WSU had the upper hand in total blocks (3-2), but kills (48-48) and digs (49-49) were even.
- MTU's edge came in points (57-56), service aces (7-5) and assists (47-44).

- Individually, Katie Smith tied her career high in kills (set as a freshman in 2023) with 16 while hitting .371.
- Smith was one of two Warriors in double-figures for kills, the other being Kyleigh Weck with 10 and a .320 clip.
- Right on Weck's heels was Katerina Stout with nine of her own and a .533 efficiency.
- Rounding out the offensive leaders were Kayla Dulgar with 42 assists and Doga Muhtaroglu with four service aces.
- The freshman Muhtaroglu's previous season best was three in the season opener against Quincy on Aug. 28.
- Defensively, Giselle Burlingame (16 digs) and Muhtaroglu (two block assists) were the frontrunners.

Last Time Out - Northern Michigan (Oct. 10; W, 3-0
- As mentioned above, Wayne State hit .411 for the match with 47 kills and only eight errors on 95 total attacks.
- The last time the Green and Gold were above .400 for the match was against Davenport on Oct. 8, 2021.
- Northern Michigan hit .100 in its own right -- 25 kills and 16 mishaps on 90 attempts.
- The Warriors' most efficient individual set was the third at .577 (17-2-26).
- The Wildcats were at their best offensively in the opening period at .111 (12-8-36).
- The home team won all six of the major head-to-head categories.
- That included points (58-27), kills (47-25), service aces (7-1), total blocks (4-1), assists (40-24), and digs (41-39).

- Individually, Kyleigh Weck hit a red-hot .500 with 13 kills and just one error on 24 swings.
- For Weck, her team-best hitting percentage was up to .336 for the fall.
- She was joined in the double-digit kill category by Lauren Essenpreis (10-2-23, .348).
- That mark was one off her career high while the .348 hitting percentage was a personal best for 10-plus kills.
- Behind that tandem were three more Warriors with five-plus kills.
- That trio included Katie Smith with eight (.263), Doga Muhtaroglu with seven (.429) and Nicole Dupre with six (.556).
- Muhtaroglu tied her season high for kills with seven, which she also accomplished Oct. 3 at Roosevelt.
- Staying on offense, Kayla Dulgar dished out 36 assists to go with a pair of aces.
- Defensively, Giselle Burlingame (15 digs), Essenpreis (two blocks, one solo) and Dupre (two blocks, one solo) headlined the action.

Up Next
Wayne State will play its final two matches of the regular season -- at Purdue Northwest on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. eastern and Saturday, Nov. 7 at Parkside at 4 p.m. eastern.