SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State volleyball team will be back in action this weekend with a pair of road matches. The Lakers will travel across the Upper Peninsula to take on the Northern Michigan Wildcats and the Michigan Tech Huskies. Lake Superior will play at Northern Michigan in Marquette, Mich. on Friday, Nov. 5 at 4:00 p.m. and match up against the Huskies at 2:00 p.m. in Houghton, Mich. on Saturday, Nov. 6.
The Lakers will look to have a strong weekend on the road following a pair of tough conference home matchups last weekend against Saginaw Valley and Wayne State. The Lakers dropped a 3-1 match to Saginaw Valley State on Friday, Oct. 29 in a competitive match. The Lakers also fell to the Wayne State Warriors in three sets on Saturday, Oct. 30 .
Lake Superior State will play the Wildcats and the Huskies for the second time this season after hosting both teams earlier this season. The Lakers fell to a talented Michigan Tech in three sets on Sept. 24 and followed with a hard-fought five-set win over Northern Michigan the next afternoon.
Through 23 matches this season, the Lakers are led by senior Camdyn Odykirk and redshirt sophomore Taylor Fleming offensively as the pair ranks first and second in kills and kills per set. Odykirk leads the team in kills with 149 and ranks second in kills per set with 1.94 while Fleming leads the Lakers in kills per set with 2.28 and ranks second behind Odykirk in kills with 137. Junior Ally Gruber has had a strong season for the Lakers with 130 kills and a team-leading 18 service aces.
Senior Halle Grulke's 426 assists leads the team this season.
Defensively, sophomore libero Emily Hagelthorn ranks first among her teammates in digs with 349 while Odykirk leads the Lakers with 51 total blocks this season. Hagelthorn ranks third in the GLIAC in digs per set this year with 4.47.
Michigan Tech Huskies (18-5, 10-1 GLIAC)
Michigan Tech has been on a steamroll of a streak, winning their last 10 GLIAC matches. The Huskies defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats in three sets in the team's most recent match on Oct. 30 and have only lost once in the last three weeks. The Huskies are coached by Matt Jennings who has been in his role since 2012.
The Huskies are led by outside hitter Anna Joynas, who ranks second in the GLIAC in kills this season with 323, and setter Laura De Marchi who leads the conference with 11.30 assists per set this season.
Northern Michigan Wildcats (9-13, 4-7 GLIAC)
The Wildcats are winners of four of their last six matches including a win against both Wisconsin-Parkside and Purdue Northwest last weekend. The Wildcats are coached by Mike Lozier who is in his fifth season as the Wildcats head coach.
Northern Michigan is led by a pair of outside hitters: Jacqueline Smith, who ranks third in the GLIAC in kills this season with 307, and Lizzy Stark, who ranks eighth in the same category with 218 kills.
What's Next
Following these matchups, the Lakers will travel to Midland, Mich. to face off against the Northwood University Timberwolves in the final game of the regular season. The match is set to take place on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1:00 p.m.
For more information, visit lssulakers.com
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