FINDLAY, Ohio – Lake Superior State volleyball fell 3-1 on the road Friday evening against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent Findlay, during their first conference road test of the season.
The Lakers (1-10, 0-3 GLIAC) claimed the first set with a 25-23 victory, outlasting the Oilers (7-4, 3-0 GLIAC) in the narrow set win by using 14 kills and an impressive .278 attack percentage. Brooke Williams led the Lakers with five kills of her team-high 12 kills during the opening set.
Williams also combined for two block assists tying for a team-high with junior Elizabeth Ballor, who also tacked on the Lakers' only solo block.
Findlay countered with a dominating performance in the second set, sealing the 25-11 win to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Oilers racked up 12 kills and only 2 errors in posting a .435 attack percentage during the second set. The LSSU attack struggled, scoring just six kills and committing five errors.
A tight third set saw the Lakers hold a narrow 19-18 advantage before the Oilers rattled off a pair of kills and an error from LSSU made the set 21-19 in favor of UF. LSSU later tied the third frame at 22 but a service error on the ensuing point, followed by a service ace for Findlay's Amanda Winner, set up a Hailee Olson kill for the set point.
Winner tied Madison Castle of the Lakers with a match-high four service aces, while Olson had a match-high 41 assists from the setter position. Castle led LSSU with 20 assists on the Lakers' 40 kills.
Attacking proved difficult once again for the Lakers during the fourth and final set, combining for seven kills and seven errors in the 25-14 loss. The Oilers committed just one error in the final set and drove in 11 kills.
A thorn in the side for the Lakers attack all evening, Mallorie Kah combined for eight assisted blocks for the Oilers.
Junior Justice Kjolhede led the Lakers with 13 digs, while Amanda Reid and Mikala Williams each added 10. Kara Scherger led the Oilers with a match-high 29 digs defensively.
The Lakers cap the weekend with a road match against Wayne State at 4 p.m. on Saturday before closing the road trip with a Tuesday evening match at Saginaw Valley State. The Lakers and Cardinals are scheduled to square off at 6 p.m.