BIG RAPIDS, Mich.- Lake Superior State volleyball earned their first victory of the 2016 season, defeating West Virginia State 3-1 at the Ferris State University Volleyball Invitational on Saturday morning before falling to Minnesota-Duluth in their final match of the opening weekend.

Game 1 LSSU 3 - WVSU 1 (25-23, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22)

The Lakers (1-3) earned close two-point victories in the first and third sets to head into the final set ahead 2-1. In the fourth and final set LSSU featured a dominating attack that posted 16 kills and just two errors for a .378 attack percentage. Conversely, the Yellow Jackets (0-3) committed eight errors with their 11 kills during the fourth set as the Lakers finished off the 25-22 set-win.

WVSU jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set, looking to tie the match at two sets apiece, however the resilient Lakers went on an 8-2 run to take a 9-7 lead early in the set. With the score later tied at 11-11, the Lakers went on a 5-2 run sparked by a pair of kills by junior Jena Tulgestke to build a 17-13 lead. The Yellow Jackets made another surge late in the set to try to force a fifth set but the Lakers outlasted and willed their way to their first victory of the 2016 season.

Tulgestke led the Lakers with 12 kills and was followed by sophomore Morgan Kelley's 11 kills, Brooke Williams with nine kills and freshman Caitlyn Kane with seven. For the second consecutive match Madison Castle led LSSU from the setter position and dished out 21 assists in the match. Newcomer Lauren Lukasik also served up 16 assists for the Lakers attackers.

Defensively the Lakers were bolstered by junior libero Justice Kjolhede's 20 digs. Kjolhede also had seven assists and tied with Castle for second on the team with two service aces. Karlee Weissend led the Lakers with three service aces. Weissend also led the Lakers up front with a pair of solo blocks and combined for four block assists.

Samantha Scripter led the Yellow Jackets with eight kills followed by Allison Tumey and Mallory Renaud each posting seven kills.

Game 2 UMD 3 – LSSU 0 (25-15, 25-3, 25-21)

The Lakers capped the weekend with a 3-0 loss against No. 10-ranked Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs (4-0) controlled the match with an impressive attack and a stifling defense to keep the Lakers attack at bay.

UMD used a .273 attack percentage combined with nine errors by the Lakers to take the first set 25-15.

Attack errors proved costly for LSSU again in the second set as the Lakers committed 13 errors and only picked up three kills (-.417 percent) during the 25-3 loss. In the third set the Lakers made the necessary adjustments offensively to keep the score tight throughout, but the Bulldogs proved to be too tough and took the final set 25-21.

Brooke Williams led the Lakers attack with seven kills. Lauren Lukasik led LSSU with a team-high 10 assists.

Three separate Bulldogs logged nine kills each in the victory and Emily Torve led UMD with 33 assists.

Next weekend, the Lakers again face the Bulldogs to open the two-day Wisconsin-Parkside Tournament on Friday (Sept. 9). Following the 12 p.m. meeting with UMD, LSSU will take on St. Cloud State at 4:30 p.m.