SAULT STE MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State University volleyball team will look to build off last weekend's victory as the Lakers continue both their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and home stints. The Lakers will play only one match this weekend, facing off against the Northwood University Timberwolves in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 2:00p.m.
The Lakers are coming off of an exciting win against Northern Michigan in an extremely competitive match. Their fellow U.P. opponent took the Lakers to five sets, but the Lakers would overcome an early final set deficit to earn the victory in the decisive final set. The Lakers had strong performances from junior Taylor Fleming who led the Lakers with 11 kills in the match while Ally Gruber closed out a strong weekend with 10 kills as she played her first home series as a Laker.
Through the first 12 matches of the season, senior Camdyn Odykirk leads the team with 84 kills, a .215 hitting percentage and total blocks (25) . Gruber (80) and Fleming (71) round out the Lakers top three in kills this season. Bethany Wilson and Emilee McDaniel, who both played solid against Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan last weekend, each rank within the top five on the team in both kills and blocks this season.
Senior Halle Grulke, who currently sits 10th all time in assists for the Lakers, would add an additional 46 assists last weekend to bring her current total to 1,366 in her career.
Defensively, the Lakers have looked to sophomore libero Emily Hagelthorn who leads the team with 178 digs. Gruber, who leads the team with 12 service aces, ranks second on the Lakers in digs this season with 86.
Northwood University Timberwolves, Midland, Mich.
The Timberwolves are coming off a weekend series split. The Timberwolves would also earn a victory over the Wildcats from Northern Michigan, finishing them off in three straight sets. However, on Saturday, Northwood would fall to the Huskies from Michigan Tech in three straight sets. The Timberwolves have a record of 8-3 (2-2 GLIAC) and are coached by Dave Shumaker who recently recorded his 400th coaching victory.
Up Next
Next weekend, the Lakers will continue their home and GLIAC stints with a matchup of Wisconsin Parkside on Friday, October 9th at 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday, October 10th, the Lakers will face Purdue Northwest at 2:00 p.m. Both matches will take place in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium.
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