HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's volleyball team fell in the opening match of the 2021 season to the Michigan Tech Huskies by a score of 3 sets to none on Saturday, Feb. 20 in the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton, Mich. in the first game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series. 

First Set: In a hard-fought first set, the Lakers would trail 7-3 to the Huskies but kills from Halle Grulke, Kyra Vezina, and Malia Howe would bring the Lakers back within a pair of points of MTU. Later in the set, the Lakers would string together three straight points to come within a point of the Huskies (20-19) but Michigan Tech would record five of the six final points to take the set by a score of 25-20. 

Second Set: The Huskies would take the second set by a score of 25-15 over the Lakers. The set was evenly matched as the Lakers trailed the Huskies 12-11 before the home squad would score six straight points to take an 18-12 lead over the Lakers. The Lakers were unable to rally against the Huskies in the set to go down 2-0, heading into the third set of the match. 

Third Set: The Huskies offense would continue to dominate in the third set as Michigan Tech won the set, and the match, with a score of 25-12. 

The Lakers finished the first match of the season registering a total of 22 kills, led by Grulke (6) and Howe (4). Grulke would also lead the Lakers in assists with nine in the match while Emily Kalinowski followed close behind with seven assists in the match for the Lakers. 

Defensively, the Lakers were led by libero Sydney Briney, who led the Lakers with 18 digs. Kalinowski ranked second among her teammates with 11 digs in the match. 

Freshman defensive specialist Emily Hagelthorn made her debut as a Laker, and appeared in all three sets for LSSU. 

What's Next

The Lakers and Huskies will wrap up the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 p.m. in the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton, Mich. 

Follow the Lakers 

Due to State of Michigan, GLIAC and Lake Superior State University mandates, fans are not currently permitted to attend any Laker sporting events. Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker home games, there are still a number of ways that fans will be able to follow the game action. All Laker home games during the 2021 season will be available to watch live on Stretch TV. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lssu/. Fans can also access live stats on lssulakers.com

For more information, visit lssulakers.com

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