GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Lake Superior State University volleyball team (1-14, 0-7 GLIAC) fell to the Davenport Panthers (12-4, 5-2 GLIAC) by a final score of 3-0 on Saturday. 

The match started off back and forth as multiple kills from Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Taylor Fleming (Rogers City, Mich.) helped tie the score at 8-8. The Panthers were able to pull ahead with a 6-1 run, but Velasque and Fleming were each able to hit back-to-back kills to propel the Lakers to a 7-2 scoring burst of their own to tie the set at 17-17 and force a Davenport timeout. However, the Panthers would then use a 6-0 run to claim the first set by a score of 25-19.

The second set would once again start off close as both teams traded blows on their way to a 5-5 stalemate. The Panthers were able to go up by three points, but a 4-0 run that was capped off with an Ally Lasley (Birch Run, Mich.) service ace put the Lakers back in front. The lead would then change hands four more times before the Lakers pulled ahead by three with a 5-1 run behind hills from Fleming and Velasque, and they followed that up with a 3-0 scoring burst with kills from Emilee McDaniel (Manistique, Mich.) and Valeriya Varnakova (Ufa, Russia) to take a 20-15 advantage. However, the Panthers were able to come back and take the second set by a score of 25-23.

The third set began very competitive just like the previous two as kills from Nina White (Chelsea, Mich.) and Maggie Morris (Schoolcraft, Mich.) helped the Lakers to a pair of 3-1 scoring bursts to keep the set close. The Panthers were able to pull ahead, but kills from Velasque and Fleming propelled their team to rally with runs of 3-0 and 3-1, but it would not be enough as Davenport claimed the third set and the match by respective scores of 25-20 and 3-0.

Despite the loss, Fleming led the way offensively with double-digit kills, and Emily Kalinowski (South Lyon, Mich.) led all players with 28 assists while also notching 16 digs for the double-double.

The Lakers return to action on Friday, Sept. 30 to open a four-match homestand against the Michigan Tech Huskies at Bud Cooper Gymnasium with the first serve scheduled for 5 p.m.