A raucous crowd at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium lifted Lake Superior State on Friday night, but the Lakers dropped the GLIAC match in four sets to Saginaw Valley State.

The student section roared to life and powered the Lakers (3-8, 0-3 GLIAC) during several key moments of the match. But the quality of the Cardinals (8-3, 2-1 GLIAC) saw out the result for the visitors, 25-15, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21.

"The players were definitely excited about coming out and playing in front of the home crowd," said Laker Head Coach Chelsea Cooke-Tripp. "We've been away for the past three weeks, and needed that crowd.

We struggled a little bit with some energy, the highs and lows, but the crowd being there helped boost us back up."

The Lakers rebounded from the first set with an excellent second, never trailing until the end of the frame and holding set point, up 24-21. Elisa Rizzoli had three kills in the set for LSSU, while Rachel Steele added a pair late. The Lakers defended very well at the net, forcing SVSU to scramble to stay in the play. 

"We've talked about it before," said Cooke-Tripp. "Defense is really important to us. Especially in practice, we try to stay very gritty. Blocking helped a lot more, but having somebody very solid back there like Eli that puts up a consistent ball, our team really relies on that and we can use that to our advantage."

Rizzoli tallied 18 digs in the match, leading Lake State for the sixth time this year. Despite the Lakers superior defense, the Cardinals finally closed the gap at the end of the second and took the set, along with a 2-0 lead in the match.

But the Lakers responded with tremendous energy in the third, coming back from an 18-15 deficit to tie the set 19-19. Both teams dueled down the stretch, but Morgan Deming clinched the set with a pair of outstanding attacks late. A consistent force in the middle for LSSU throughout her collegiate career, Deming showed her immense skill, adjusting quickly with a mixture of sublime touch and raw power to score the set for the Lakers.

"Morgan's definitely a game changer for us," said Cooke-Tripp. "She takes the scout report and goes after it."

"Her consistency [is one of her best attributes], for sure. That's one of our things. We work on consistency every single day. She's one of those that everybody on the team knows what to expect from and work really well around her."

While the Lakers trailed for much of the middle of the fourth set, they made a tremendous run late to tie the score at 20-20. Deming notched another tremendous kill and blocked a ball at the net for a point, finishing the match with seven kills and two blocks. SVSU closed out with five of the last six points, interrupted by another kill by LSSU's outstanding middle.

The crowd, featuring a packed student section, carried its energy throughout the match. For a home opener, there was a lot to like about an extremely competitive match, a rich college atmosphere and high-level play in one of the best NCAA Division II leagues in the country. For Cooke-Tripp, Friday was another debut. The first-year head coach took charge of a match at the Bud Cooper Gym for the first time. Asked what the occasion meant to her personally, she instead highlighted what the vision for the future is.

"It's always a little awkward because I'm so focused on the game. A first win at home would have been cool, but I'm about growth and building a solid program and making sure the players are happy with the culture here. One day at a time, one set at a time. We're working through it, but it feels really good to finally play at home. We can hang with anybody. We're still in that process of growth and learning that we can win. We want to use that to fuel us in the next game."

The Lakers face Wayne State on Saturday at 4:00 PM in Sault Ste. Marie. Tickets are on sale now online or at the Norris Center Box Office. Download the Lake Superior State Lakers app now available on the App Store and Google Play. Follow your favorite Laker teams with push notifications for the latest news and score updates.