SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State (LSSU) volleyball program (5-5, 2-0 GLIAC) picked up their second conference victory in as many games behind a career best 10 blocks from Morgan Deming (Boyne City, Mich.) after a 3-0 sweep of GLIAC newcomers Roosevelt (1-8, 0-1 GLIAC) on Friday.

Both teams battled early with Roosevelt earning a 10-8 lead, but LSSU dug in and enforced their will, pressing ahead to win the next 17 of 21 points to dominate the remainder of the set and featuring kills from Gia Waters (Minneapolis, Minn.) and aces from Jordyn Haller (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) to claim the opening set by a margin of 25-14.

Roosevelt was able to take a slim lead early in the second set, but both teams would find themselves knotted up at 6-6 after a pair of kills from Deming. A pair of kills from Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) would then have LSSU leading by as many as seven points, but Roosevelt was not willing to go down without a fight, battling back with a 7-1 run to get back to within a single point. Roosevelt managed to knot up the score at 24-24, but after another kill from Deming, LSSU was able to hold on to take the second set 26-24.

LSSU was then able to take control early and often in the third set with several kills from Velasque, Waters, and Valeriya Varnakova (Ufa, Russia) to put the match away by claiming the third set 25-14.

The LSSU offense was led by Velasque with 9 kills while Waters was right behind her with 8 kills while also leading the team in digs with 9. Meanwhile, Vanessa Swerdon (Toronto, Ont.) led all players in assists with 23, and Deming was a dominant presence in the middle with 10 blocks, 4 of which were solo.
The Lakers return to action on Friday, Sept. 28 when they host the Grand Valley State Lakers with the first serve scheduled for 5:30 p.m.