SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State University volleyball team (2-17, 1-10 GLIAC) fell to Grand Valley State University (13-6, 7-4 GLIAC) by a final score of 3-1 on Sunday.
Lake State started off strong with kills coming from Nina White (Chelsea, Mich.) and Emily Kalinowski (South Lyon, Mich.). However, Grand Valley soon responded, going on a 3-0 run to the score 3-2. A brief exchange of points would then occur, with Taylor Fleming (Roger City, Mich.) and Maggie Morris (Schoolcraft, Mich.) earning multiple kills. Grand Valley was then able to utilize a 3-0 run to take a 12-10 lead over Lake State, but Lake State responded with a 4-0 run of their own to retake the lead with Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) earning her first kill and service ace of the game. Lake State and Grand Valley would go on another exchange of points that resulted in Lake State going on a 3-0 scoring burst with kills from both Velasque and Emilee McDaniel (Manistique, Mich.). However, Grand Valley was able to rally back with a 5-1 run to claim the first set by a score of 26-24.
Grand Valley opened the second set with a 3-0 run, but Lake State would soon rally, going on a 5-0 run of their own to take the lead. Velasque and McDaniel both picked up kills along the way with Sydney Briney (St. Joseph, Mich.) earning her first service ace of the game as well. Another exchange of points would occur that eventually ended with Lake State going on 4-0 run to extend their lead to 11-5. After a pair of Grand Valley points, Fleming responded with back-to-back kills, making the score 13-7 in favor of Lake State. A long exchange of points would occur with Velasque and Morris both earning kills, and after a brief Grand Valley rally attempt, Lake State would go on to take the second set, 25-21, with McDaniel earning the final kill.
Lake State went on a 5-0 run to start the third set with a kill from McDaniel and a Briney service ace, but Grand Valley responded with a 3-0 run to close the gap. Both teams would then trade points before finding themselves tied up in a 9-9 stalemate. Lake State was able to break the tie by going on a 4-0 run to take a 13-9 lead over Grand Valley. However, Grand Valley would take the third set, 25-16, after a long exchange of points and a 10-0 run.
The fourth set started back and forth with Grand Valley eventually going on a 3-0 run, giving themselves a 6-3 lead. After a timeout to talk things over, McDaniel earned another kill to cut down the lead. Grand Valley responded with two more points, but McDaniel once again answered. Grand Valley was then able to pull ahead, and they would ultimately take the fourth set and the match by respective scores of 25-11 and 3-1.
Fleming led the team in kills with 12, followed closely behind by McDaniel with 11. Emily Kalinowski earned 36 assists, and Ally Lasley (Birch Run, Mich.) would earn a strong 20 digs with Emily Hagelthorn (South Lyon, Mich.) earning 11 digs of her own defensively.
The Lakers return to action on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 for the Midwest Regional Crossover in Hammond, Ind.