Lake Superior State battled up in Houghton at the SDC Gym on Friday afternoon, facing off against the Michigan Tech Huskies. Fourth-year Rachel Steele hit .417 but the Lakers dropped the result in straight sets, 25-19, 25-12, 25-20. 

"She hit really well for us," said Laker Head Coach Chelsea Cooke-Tripp. Steele scored six kills and dug the ball six times versus the Huskies. 

The Lakers (3-12, 0-7 GLIAC) opened the match with two kills by second-year Elisa Rizzoli and one by Steele to push to an early 3-0 lead over the Huskies (8-7, 4-3 GLIAC). All three opening kills were assisted by third-year setter Ava Tarsi. LSSU stretched its lead to as much as four midway through the first set, 13-9. But the Huskies went on a long run to take the opening set.

"We started pretty well," noted Cooke-Tripp. But she noted problems with serve-receive against Tech. The Lakers committed 11 receiving errors in the match, but defended well when the ball was in play. The Lakers tallied 58 digs in the three-set match, while MTU had 62.

Rizzoli led in kills and digs for the evening, her fifth time leading in both categories this season. LSSU also had two players finish with double-digit assists. Tarsi led with 13 and first-year setter Azra Bilgiçer tallied 10 for the Lakers.

"We need to keep swinging well and moving the ball around and playing our game", stated Cooke-Tripp.

The Lakers return home tomorrow to close out U.P. Rivalry Week, hosting the Northern Michigan Wildcats with first serve set for 4:00 PM. Get your tickets now online, and download the new Lake Superior State Lakers mobile app to follow the team all season long, now available on the App Store and Google Play.

Cooke-Tripp said, "We definitely have a really big opportunity and if we have a great crowd, that's gonna be huge for us. We've got to keep focusing on doing the little things, especially the controllables."