SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's volleyball team fell in a match to the Northern Michigan Wildcats by a score of 3-0 on Saturday, March 20 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the second game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) weekend series.
The Lakers dropped the match in three straight sets by scores of 25-15, 25-21, and 25-14 to the Wildcats.
The Lakers would get off to a strong start in the match against the Wildcats, holding a 5-1 lead early on which included a kill by senior outside hitter, Sarah Bailey. NMU would tie the game at seven points apiece and would follow with a run of five more points to lead 12-7. Back-to-back kills from Camdyn Odykirk and Malia Howe brought the Lakers within two points of the Wildcats (13-11).
Northern would string together eight straight points to take a 21-11 lead and would clinch the opening set by a score of 25-15.
The second set between the two Upper Peninsula schools was evenly contested as the final score ended in favor of the visitors, 25-21. Northern Michigan would build a 7-3 lead through the first ten points of the set. LSSU would answer in the next stretch of action as the team would come back within two points of NMU (11-9) led by a kill from Bethany Wilson and a service ace from Emily Hagelthorn.
Hagelthorn's second ace of the set would bring the Lakers within a point of the Wildcats (14-13).
Junior Halle Grulke evened the score (17-17) with a kill and Odykirk would add consecutive aces to give the Lakers a 19-17 lead in the second set. The score was tied at 21 but the Wildcats would record the final four points to take the set.
In the third set, the two teams played tight through the first nine points with NMU holding a point lead (5-4). The Wildcats, the No. 24 team-ranked in Division II, would build a 18-7 lead over the Lakers, and would take the third set by a 25-14 score to win the match.
With the loss, the Lakers record drops to 0-10 this season as the team wrapped up the fifth week of GLIAC play.
The Lakers finished the match with a total of 21 kills while the Wildcats totaled 28 kills in three sets. Lake Superior was led by Grulke, who finished the match with five kills. NMU was led by Jaqueline Smith, who posted 12 kills for her team.
Defensively, the Lakers totaled 34 digs while the Wildcats recorded 48 digs.
The Lakers will travel to Detroit, Mich. next weekend for a GLIAC road series against the Wayne State Warriors. The series will open on Friday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. and wrap up at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 27.
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Due to State of Michigan, GLIAC and Lake Superior State University mandates, fans are not currently permitted to attend any Laker sporting events. Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker home games, there are still a number of ways that fans will be able to follow the game action. All Laker home games during the 2021 season will be available to watch live on Stretch TV. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lssu/. Fans can also access live stats on lssulakers.com
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