SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State volleyball team will compete in the 2021 Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by Wisconsin Parkside on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11 at the De Simone Gymnasium in Kenosha, Wisc. The Lakers will face the No. 11 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. EST and Quincy University at 6:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Sept. 10. On Saturday, Sept. 11, the Lakers will play against the Colorado Christian Cougars at 9:00 a.m. EST and the Mavericks of Minnesota State at 3:45 p.m. EST. The Lakers will match up against two of the same opponents that they faced at last weekend's Keweenaw Volleyball Classic (Minnesota Duluth & Minnesota State).
The Lakers will look to bounce back after a tough weekend at the Keweenaw Volleyball Classic, where three of the team's four opponents were nationally ranked with two teams in the top 10.
Lake Superior State was led by senior middle hitter Camdyn Odykirk, who was named to the Keweenaw Classic All-Tournament Team, as she recorded a team-leading 29 kills on the weekend while also adding a team-best five solo blocks and eight block assists. In her first weekend with the Lakers after joining the team as a transfer, junior outside hitter Ally Gruber totaled 25 kills, 31 digs, and a team-leading five aces in the Michigan Tech tournament.
Sophomore libero Emily Hagelthorn, who played in all 13 sets last weekend, led the Lakers in digs with 45 in the tournament.
It was also a milestone weekend for senior setter Halle Grulke who registered her 1,200th career collegiate assist in the match against No.17 St. Cloud State. Grulke enters the Hampton Inn Invitational with 1,213 assists after leading the Lakers last weekend with 51 assists.
No. 11 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
The Lakers will get a shot at revenge against the Bulldogs on Friday. In their last matchup, LSSU would fall in three sets to the Bulldogs. In the third set, the Lakers held their own against one of the top teams in the nation as they lost by a close score of 25-23.
The Bulldogs, who are led by Head Coach Jim Boos, finished with a 25-7 record in the 2019 season as well as 16-4 in conference play, both of those records were good enough to give the Bulldogs a berth to the NCAA Division II tournament. The Bulldogs will look to the leadership of returners Kate Berg who is a fifth-year senior as well as senior Summer Ballard.
Quincy Hawks
The Hawks sit at 1-3 this season after the Nova Southeastern tournament. Outside hitter Mattie Norris leads her team this season with 40 kills thus far. On the defensive side, libero America Galvin has recorded 48 digs to lead the Hawks in the early season. Quincy is coached by Mark Jones who is in his third year in the role
Colorado Christian Cougars
After winning the first two matches in the Oredigger Volleyball Classic, the Cougars would fall to 2-2 on the year. Breanna Allen has led the Cougars on the year with 34 kills so far and Madelyn Long's strong serving has led to a team-leading seven service aces. Long also leads the team in digs with 50. Head Coach Bobby Blanken begins his fifth season leading the Cougars.
Minnesota State Mavericks
The Lakers will also get another chance to beat the Mavericks on Saturday. The Lakers fell in a competitive match to the Mavericks in four sets with an average spread of just five points in each set. In the match, junior setter Emily Kalinowski registered 29 assists while Emily Haggelthorn and Ally Gruber were tied for the team lead in digs with 16. The Mavericks were led by Jessica Nelson who had 17 kills in the match and Mara Quam who would dig the ball 28 times. The Mavericks are coached by Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth.
Visit the 2021 Hampton Inn Invitational information page here.
For more information, visit lssulakers.com
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