SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's volleyball team dropped a match to the Davenport University Panthers by a score of 3-0 on Saturday, March 6 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the second game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) weekend series. 

The Lakers dropped the match in three straight sets by scores of 25-15, 25-12, and 25-15 to the Davenport Panthers. 

The first set opened with freshman Emily Hagelthorn recording a service ace and Bethany Wilson would record a kill to even the set at 2-2 early on. The Panthers would go on a run of points to take a 9-3 lead over Lake Superior State. In the middle of the set, Sydney Briney added back-to-back service aces to bring the Lakers within five points (16-11). Sarah Bailey added a kill towards the end of the set but Davenport would take the opening set by a score of 25-15.

In the second set, the Panthers offense would dominate play and the visitors would lead 11-3 through the first 14 points. The Lakers, led by kills from Halle Grulke and Kaitlyn Bishop, would close the Panthers lead to six points (15-9). Davenport would take the second set by a score of 25-12. 

The Panthers secured the weekend sweep with a third set win by a score of 25-15. The Lakers trailed 4-0 at the start of the set but would come back to tie the score at five. Davenport scored seven of the next eight points and would secure the set, and match, win by a score of 25-15. 

With the loss, the Lakers record drops to 0-6 this season as the team completed the third week of GLIAC play. 

The Lakers finished the match against the Panthers registering a total of 27 kills, led by Bailey (6) and Howe (6). Grulke and Odykirk tied for second on the team in kills with five each. Davenport totaled 33 kills in the trio of sets. 

In addition, Grulke finished the match with 17 assists to lead the Lakers while Emily Kalinowski ranked second among her teammates with eight assists against the Panthers.

Briney recorded two of the team's five aces in the match, with Vezina, Hagelthorn and Kalinowski registering the remaining three. 

Defensively, the Lakers recorded 36 digs in the match as compared to 42 by the Panthers. 

What's Next

The Lakers will play a home-and-home series next weekend against Saginaw Valley State with the series opening on Friday, March 12 at 3:30 p.m. in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The GLIAC series will conclude on Sunday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m. in University Center, Mich. in the Cardinal Gymnasium. 

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

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