More than a few fingernails were chewed off Saturday in South Dakota. Lake Superior State went to the wire with Minnesota Crookston to cap the second day of the Hardrocker Volleyball Tournament, but the Golden Eagles (1-1, 0-0 NSIC) beat LSSU (0-3, 0-0 GLIAC) in five sets, 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 16-14.
Lake State held match point with a 14-10 lead in the fifth set, but the Golden Eagles scored six straight to come back from the brink. Laker Head Coach
Chelsea Cooke-Tripp said minutes after the match, "The loss still really stinks when we were so close. We just didn't close. But I will say, the last couple of sets, we turned it around after a slow start, and I'm super proud of them for sticking it out and pushing through to get to that fifth set."
The Lakers certainly rallied as the match wore on. They hit .231 and .342 in the third and fourth sets, scoring 26 kills with just four errors and hitting .286 on 77 swings. Defensively, Lake State led 78-74 in total digs and held the Golden Eagles under .150 in the second, third and fifth sets. Cooke-Tripp praised the back row defense, noting that it's a key part of her tactics.
"I'm very passionate about defense," she said. "We're still working on blocking and working together in the front row. But defense in the back row, we're really solid. We're really happy with the team staying gritty, staying after it and trusting in the system."
While the Lakers lost their opening match of the day to Jamestown (2-0, 0-0 NSIC) 25-10, 25-12, 23-25, 25-15, the highly-anticipated introduction of Azra Bilgiçer to the lineup instantly sparked the Laker offense. Down 9-4 in the second set, Bilgiçer dealt assists on each of the next five Laker points, all kills. She finished her first day of collegiate volleyball with 13 assists, a kill and three digs against Jamestown, then 24 assists, five kills and 14 digs against Minnesota Crookston. It was an outstanding debut day for the Turkish setter, who played multiple roles throughout the two matches and showed why there's been buzz around her game.
"I think she holds herself really well and doesn't play like a first-year player," said Cooke-Tripp. "She takes feedback super well. She's like, 'Yes coach. Okay, coach, I'll do that.' It's very nice to hear, 'Yes, I'll try,' because we ask them to try new things and be okay with failing. She's one of those athletes that's in the gym, doesn't question the system, and just rolls with it."
The Lakers surged ahead early in the third set on the service of
Gia Waters, scoring six straight points to take a 12-4 lead.
Caitlyn Matelski continued a strong weekend with a kill, followed by kills from Waters,
Amilia Ashcroft and
Elisa Rizzoli. While the Jimmies clased back in and took a brief lead late in the set, Waters scored a pair of service aces to restore the advantage, and Matelski hammered a kill to seal the set.
Ava Tarsi tallied 20 assists during the match.
But it was Bilgiçer's debut that opened things up for the Lakers against the Golden Eagles later in the day. Bilgiçer tallied six assists and two kills in the third set victory, then six assists, three kills and a service ace in the fourth set.
Elisa Rizzoli dominated against Minnesota Crookston, too. She scored 16 kills on 46 hits and notched 18 digs, an excellent day. When the Lakers won the fourth set, they closed with three kills by Rizzoli in the final four rallies.
"With Elisa, we've taken time to focus on being very present and staying aggressive," said Cooke-Tripp. "She's a super hard, heavy hitter. She's got a good toolbox in a range of roles, with different shots and tips. But her best tool is her power. I've been encouraging her to stay with her heavy arm and swing away."
Lake Superior State faces Chadron State at the King Center in Rapid City, SD to close out the Hardrocker Tournament on Saturday, with opening serve at 1:30 PM ET. Download the new Laker Athletics App on the App Store or Google Play for updates.
