A pair of defeats for Lake Superior State ended the Lakers trip to Hammond, IN for the Midwest Regional Crossover. LSSU played well during the weekend during Friday's loss to Illinois-Springfield, then Saturday's contests with Southwest Baptist and William Jewell.

The Lakers played very well in the William Jewell (3-15, 0-5 GLVC) match, taking the opening set 26-24, before dropping the next three, 27-25, 25-16, 25-22. LSSU trailed until the middle stages of the first set, striking for a lead on kills by Elisa Rizzoli, Shea Berisoff and Morgan Deming. Though the set remained close until the end, the Lakers saw some dominant play from Valeriya Varnakova, who smashed two late kills home. 

Set two saw the Lakers get to set point, but the Cardinals rallied to win it, 27-25. Shea Berisoff played very well in an excellent set, scoring four kills with a block assist. Deming scored another four kills with two block assists. She had an excellent weekend in Hammond.

LSSU took a large lead in the fourth set, snatching seven of eight points early. Deming scored another three kills in that run, continuing to impact the match. But the Cardinals rallied to take the set and the match, with four service aces powering their run.

Defensively, senior Gia Waters excelled, with 25 digs, a new career-high by nearly double. She'd scored 13 against Ferris State on October 11^th. An outside hitter and defensive specialist by trade, she's excelled since moving to libero full-time earlier in the season. She also added six assists, while Vanessa Swerdon and Avery Headworth also passed very well for LSSU. The Lakers utilized both setters effectively, as Headworth piled up 21 assists and Swerdon tallied 19.

The Lakers were great at the net all weekend, with 18 block assists against UIS on Friday and 22 against William Jewell. Their previous season-high was 14 against Wayne State on September 20^th. 47 assists also marks a new season-high for the squad.

LSSU dropped the match against Southwest Baptist (8-12, 1-4 GLVC) 25-13, 25-18, 25-16. Waters had 11 digs for LSSU.

The Lakers stay on the road for a pair of GLIAC matches next weekend against Wisconsin-Parkside and Roosevelt. They'll return home for clashes with Saginaw Valley State and Purdue Northwest on October 30^th and 31^st, respectively.