SAGINAW, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's volleyball team dropped a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) match to the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals by a score of 3-0 on Saturday, Sept. 18 in Saginaw, Mich. The Lakers fall to 0-2 in conference play after losing the match by scores of 25-19, 25-22, and 25-20.
The Lakers held an early 5-3 lead over the Cardinals, who entered the match with a 9-1 overall record, in the first set. SVSU responded by scoring six of the next seven points to build a 9-6 lead over the Lakers. Lake Superior State pulled within one point of the Cardinals (11-10) thanks to a service ace from junior Ally Gruber but SVSU answered with a five point run. LSSU tried to rally in the late stages of the set but the Cardinals took the opening set by a 25-19 score.
Lake State jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the second set over the Cardinals. SVSU would come back to even the score and the team's were deadlocked at 7-7. The Cardinals regained the lead and would build a seven point advantage over the Lakers (21-14). After a timeout taken by head coach Dave Schmidlin, the Lakers would go on to score seven of the set's next eight points to pull within two points of the Cardinals (22-20). The final five points of the set were traded between the two conference opponents, and the Cardinals would seal the set win by a score of 25-22.
The Lakers would once again have a strong start as the visiting team held a 7-5 lead over the Cardinals. SVSU would tie the game multiple times throughout the middle stages of the set but the Lakers consistently regained the lead. LSSU was leading 16-15 when Saginaw Valley strung together four points to overtake the lead (19-16). The Lakers were unable to catch the Cardinals in the closing plays and SVSU would take the set, and the match, by a 25-20 score.
Stat Leaders: Junior Taylor Fleming and senior Camdyn Odykirk were tied for the team lead in kills as both Lakers recorded 10 kills against the Cardinals. It marked the fourth consecutive match that Fleming posted a double-digit kill total. Odykirk led the team with a .250 hitting percentage.
Setter Halle Grulke, who sits in 10th place all-time in Laker career assists with 1,317, added 27 assists for the Lakers against SVSU. Sophomore libero Emily Hagelthorn totaled 20 digs to lead the Lakers in the defensive category.
Up Next:
The Lakers will begin a five-game homestand starting with the team's home-opener on Friday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 p.m. against the Michigan Tech Huskies. The Lakers will wrap up the weekend with a second GLIAC match, against the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 2:00 p.m.Both matches will take place in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium.
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